After 14 years
by Count On Me
Summary: Old story I wrote somewhere between s3 and s4... I'm dyslectic, so please be a little gentle with my spelling and grammar... give it a shot and I will be grateful forever :) After a sudden trip to Paris, our favorite Dark Knight finds someone he lost 14 years earlier.
1. Chapter 1

She was sitting outside, at the round table on the balcony, looking over the garden. Although she was almost 33 years old, she still looked stunning as she always used to. Her chocolate-brown curls have gotten lighter over the years, and her skin darker. She had been sitting there for over 2 hours, waiting for her 15 year old daughter to come home from work.

With her 2 bulldogs, named Tiffany's and Yale, and a glass of wine at her side, Blair Cornelia Waldorf was far from alone. But still she felt there is missing something. Someone. A man, probably, with dark hair and the hazel eyes. Rich, handsome and at that time probably famous in the business and hotel world. Blair sighed. It had been 14 years since she left her beloved New York and, more importantly, her beloved Chuck. Her thoughts wandered off to the questions she had been asking herself every day since she moved to Paris. Where would he be? What would he do? Was he married, dating? Or still alone, like she was, with only the memories of someone she loved to keep her company late at night. Blair had considered returning to the place she still called home, but decided not to. The fear of losing herself in the city and her past was just too big. She had left to take care of her little girl, with only her mother and father knowing about it. Blair leaned back and closed her eyes, wandering off again to a simpler place.

"Hey mom, I'm back! Did you fell asleep again? And yuk, you smell terrible." Rosalyn Charlotte Waldorf grinned at her mother. Blair opened her eyes and looked at her daughter with a tired smile.

"Thank you, dearest. I love you too," she said it sarcasticly, but playful, "and I have every reason to fall asleep, I was up late last night, checking _your_ essay!"

"And thank you again for doing that, mother." Rose put down her bag and sat down next to her mother. "But we both now that's not why you fell asleep. You didn't even got tired after our trip to Beijing last year! And you were awake for probably 36 hours!"

"And why did I fell asleep then? Since you know me so good?" Blair looked at her daughter. Rose looked back. They stared at each other for a while, but then Rose was the one to look away.

"You have been thinking again."

"And I am supposed not to?'

"Not if it's about the wrong subjects, mom."

"Tell me, what are those subjects? How to murder Pierre for ruining the administration?"

"Well, yes, but not only that. You should stop it, though. You know you…" Rose didn't finish her sentence, but they both knew what she ment. The girl glared at the glass of wine, which was still untouched. In one move, like she had done it many times before, she snatched away the glass and poured the wine onto the ground. Most people would have said it was a waste of the wine, but they didn't know Blair and they certainly didn't know anything of Blair's old "condition". As Rose sat down again, they both ignored what had happened.

"But did you?" Rose asked after they have been silent for a while. Blair turned her head to her daughter and they watched each other closely. Rose had no idea how much she was like her father. Or at least, like the man Blair thinks was her father.

"Did I do what?" Blair answered.

"Think about the wrong subjects again?"

"Yes. I can't help it, honey."

"If it's that bad, you should go. For a day or 2, maybe." Rose stared at her mother.

"I can't go, Rosie. I couldn't leave you or the hotel alone."

"Grandpa Harold will watch over the both of us. He offered to do that 3 times!"

"But still." Blair closed her eyes and leaned back. Another silence appeared, until Rose broke it.

"If you miss him so much, why can't you go? _Do _you miss him that much?" Rose pushed her seat closer to her mother's. Blair nodded. "Do you love him more than me?" Rose folded her arms around Blair and rested her head on her mother's shoulder. Blair kissed her daughters hair.

"There is no one I love more than you, Rosie," she muttered, "And you're fully aware of that." Rose looked up and pecked her mother's cheek before she spoke again:

"Well, you don't need him anyway, because you have me. And I won't leave even if you're begging me to."

**~o~o~o~o~o**

"Nathaniël, tell me again why I'm doing this?" Charles Bartholomew Bass took off his expensive sunglasses and looked down on his best friend, who was still packing his suitcase.

"Because it will be good for you. Come on, a few weeks to Paris! It won't be that bad. And think about all the French women! We'll have fun, you and me." Nathaniël Archibald still was the same handsome-but-boyish-looking lacrosse player he used to be almost 15 years ago, only now he had grown himself a beard. Chuck shook his head.

"Do I really have to be the one to tell you you're married? With 4 children? Who are all coming to Paris with us?" He sighed. "And I don't even want to go to Paris. It'll only remind me of _her_."

"It has been 14 years, Chuck, you should get over it. Over her."

"I can't! I don't know why, but I just… can't." He placed his sunglasses over his eyes again, although they were still inside.

"I think we both know why," Nate said softly. With the last things finally packed, they were ready to go.

**~o~o~o~o~o**

"WHERE THE HELL IS PIERRE? He is supposed to be a waiter right now!" Rose yelled at a hotel employee. It was a day after her talk with her mother and she was in charge of her mother's hotel. The employee shook his head and tried to sooth Rose into calming down. "My mother isn't here, so you all work for me now!"

A small group of cleaners tried to sneak out of Rose's sight, but she immediately stopped them from leaving. "WHERE THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING?! ONE MORE STEP AND I SWEAR IT'LL BE YOUR LAST AS AN EMPLOYEE IN THIS HOTEL OR IN ANY HOTEL FOR THAT MATTER!" The only reason that prevened Rose from choking one of the cleaners was her phone. Still breathing heavy, she picked up and smiled in a way her mother always does when she was bossing around.

"Hello mother, what can I do for you?"

On the other side Rose heard her mother adjusting her signature headband, and Rose immediately copied that action. Both of them were known for always wearing a headband matching their outfits.

"François told me you scared out almost every single one of my employees. You better not makes them quite their jobs, it's hard to find replacement." Blair mentioned amused. Silently Rose cursed her mother's assistant for being so observant. Although a blind could have noticed what she had been doing to the staff.

"Like you are any different, mother." She let out a small laugh and brushed a string of blond-dyed hair out her face. She turned around and headed for the reception, where the receptionist freezes in fear. "But I bet that's not what you called for." Proudly she realised how professional she sounded. Of course her mother ruined the moment by being a sentimental mother.

"Aw, my little girl has become an actual business woman!"

Rose sighed. "Mother, please."

"Yes, fine. Let me be proud of you, dear. In 2 or 3 years you will leave for college and I am never going to see you again. Anyway, I was wondering if you could get yourself a list of reservations and tell me how booked we are."

Rose nodded and smacked on the counter with a flat hand. When the man behind it didn't respond, she snapped her fingers at him with an angry look on her face.

"Give me the list of reservations," she snapped, "NOW!" On the other side of her phone conversation, Blair chuckled.

"Apparently there is no need for me to step by. Do you have the list?"

The receptionist handed over the file and Rose browsed through it quickly, looking for the right page.

"Found it, mother, no need to worry at all. And we're are… fully booked for the coming months or 3." Rose sighed with relief. If they were not, her mother might have thought she wasn't good enough for taking over the hotel one day.

"Merci, dear. You're doing great and the fact that we still are the best hotel in Paris is just another reason why I should let you be in charge more often."

Rose smiled filled with pride. "Are we going to celebrate tonight? Dinner at the Eiffeltower?"

"Mais oui, obviously." Blair answered with a laugh. It was one of their favourite traditions. Every month, if they were fully booked once again, they would have picked up some cheese and bread, and head to the Eiffeltower, where they would have stayed until even their best attempts to seducement didn't do the trick anymore. Blair adjusted and checked her outfit and hair one more time before she left their mansion. "I love you, Rosalyn."

"I love you too, mom."

**~o~o~o~o~o**

"So, how do you like Paris, sweetie?" Nate asked his 6-year-old daughter Brooklyn. The little girl had the dark-blonde hair of her father, but her mother's green eyes. Overall she would have become a very pretty woman when she grew up. But still never as beautiful as a certain brunette, in Chucks opinion. Brooke shrugged and focused again on her father laptop, which was showing her favourite movie.

"Well so much for the conversation with you 6-year-old," Nate's wife Serena said with her charming smile.

"She's yours too, remember?" Nate retorted, and he got closer to his wife. Before he could kiss her, another voice interrupted.

"Ew, dad! No! do it somewhere else, not in our limo!" Nate's other daughter, Luna, looked up from her book. She was an exact copy of her father, only the colour of her hair was slightly darker. Of all 4 children of his best friend –Colin, Kate, Luna and Brooke- Luna was Chucks favourite. She was the only one with some sparks inside her, even though she was just 8 years old. Serena rolled her eyes and kissed her husband anyway, both ignored their daughter. The entire trip in the limo Chuck didn't say a single word. He had no problems with being ignored, and when they finally would have reached the hotel, he'd explore every single one of Paris' options, especially the hot female ones.

**~o~o~o~o~o**

"You still got it, mom." Rose said with a small smile. They were leaning against the barriers of the Eiffeltower, each with their biggest, most expensive sunglasses on. Not only did they look ravishing, every man they had passed had noticed too, including the so-called guards. A flirty smile from Blair was enough to let them through.

"Maybe, but I don't think it was me all the boys were staring at," Blair answered. Rose rolled her eyes and shrugged. "Don't you think it's time you should get a boyfriend? All your girlfriends have one and you're certainly the most beautiful of all of them."

"You only say that because I'm your daughter and you're supposed to."

Blair raised her left eyebrow and looked at her daughter sceptically. Rose noticed and mirrored her mother's expression.

"You know I'm right. Every mother has to."

"Well, I'm not 'every' mother, am I? And I have never said anything I was supposed to say because I am your mother. You are one beautiful girl. Grandfather Harold, Roman, Eleanor and Cyrus all have noticed to."

"They're family."

"Well, they're right. And so am I, actually. But I won't push you, as the amazing mother that I am."

Rose rolled her eyes again, but didn't disagree. Blair actually was a very good mother. She was reasonable, sweet, understanding… she was also fine with most things Rose did or implied to do. A lot of her friends were jealous at having a mother like hers. A very hot one, too, if you'd ask Luca - her best friend. Not that that wasn't true, Blair looked very pretty considering all the things she had been through.

"I'm not ready for a boyfriend," Rose said, "I mean, considering school and the work at the hotel…"

"You don't have to work at the hotel, sweetie, if you don't want to…" Blair replied. It was true that she had been more than fine with Rose working at the hotel, but it wasn't really necessary.

"No!" Rose quickly replied, as if she was afraid her mother would take her job away, "I love that job! I love yelling at people, I love being a waitress at the restaurant, I love picking up phone calls and pretending to be you!"

Blair smiled at the desperate look on her daughter's face. "I never have heard you complain more about anything but your job…"

"Yes," Rose agreed, "sometimes. But sometimes you really can give me the worst jobs ever, which is unfair."

"what should I do then? Give you all the fun assignments because you're my daughter? Now that's not unfair!"

Rose shrugged. She turned around, only to notice a group of young French men glaring at her. She smiled at them and tucked a string of hair behind her ear. One of the guys turned red and looked away. Blair turned around too and chuckled softly noticing her daughters charm.

**~o~o~o~o~o**

The sun was already setting when they arrived at the hotel. The building was impressive, like the Palace, but had a very… French feeling to it. It was the most expensive and best known hotel in Paris, and maybe even in France. The lobby was stylish decorated and gave entrance to the bar, the club and the hallway to the elevator. With at least 3 young men to carry their luggage, Chuck, Nate, Serena and the children walked inside.

"Holy shit, this is huge!" the oldest of the children, Collin Eric Archibald said, "I mean, even bigger than your hotel, Uncle Chuck!" Collin looked around with the same expression as his 3 sisters, an expression of awe. Chuck grinned and followed Nate, who had already walked over to the reception.

"Bonjour monsieur," Nate tried. The receptionist looked up and saw how Nate was struggling with his French. He tapped on a sign saying '**we speak English too**', and focused on the computer in front of him again. Nate sighed relieved and finished in English. "We had reservations for 2 weeks. 7 persons, 4 rooms, not paid yet."

"Which name, monsieur?" the receptionist asked without looking up.

"Archibald," Nate said, this time with confidence.

"Oui. You have rooms 1812, 1813, 1814 et 1815. You know you should pay in 2 days or you're not allowed back here?" This time he looked up, to scan their reaction. Nate nodded. It wasn't really necessary, but Nate had planned on paying the rooms just a few hours before they were kicked out. The receptionist stood up and collected the key-cards, handing them over to Nate after. Without a word he sat down again and ignored them until they walked away.

"Well, what a lovely employees," Nate muttered. Chuck laughed a little.

"That's just how French people are, Nathaniel. Also, male receptionist doesn't have to be nice to tourists." He replied. Nate rolled his eyes and kissed his wife on her cheek. Serena giggled and connected her lips with the ones of her husband. With his hand still wrapped around her waist, Nate turned to his children.

"So, how should we place every one in their rooms? We have 4, remember?"

Luna shrugged, followed by the others. Chuck took out his phone, checking his messages. It's not that he expects anything, but if he looks occupied, Nate wouldn't even think of asking him anything. Nate sighed, something that he had been doing a lot lately.

"Fine… your mother and I will take 1814, Brooke and Collin 1815, Kate and Luna 1813 and Chuck will stay in 1812."

Without waiting for everyone to agree, Nate turns around, heading for the elevators.


	2. Chapter 2

With Rose being at school and nothing to do around the mansion, Blair headed for the hotel. She may not have been around much, but it still was her hotel. The mansion was not far from the place, she could have walked the distance, but Blair felt like taking a ride in her BMW convertible. It didn't take her long to reach the hotel, and when she walked in, most of her employees stopped with whatever they were doing and started glaring at her. With one clap in her hands, they all got back to work again. Frustrated, Blair walked to the other side of the lobby, to the bar. With a frown she adjusts her headband, a black one, covered with tiny diamonds. Blair always cared for her appearance, but this time she looked better than usual. With her high-waisted pencil skirt, red blouse with a high neck and black blazer, Blair looked nothing less than in charge. François, Blair's assistant, caught up with her before she reached the bar, and started informing her about everything happening in and around the hotel. Without really listening, Blair thought about leaving Paris. It was almost vacations for Rose and her partner would take over very soon. Maybe she should go to New York. Stay with her mother, go to the park, see her Dorota again. But what if Gossip Girl was still alive and posting? That couldn't be, right? It has been 14 years for goodness sake.

"Do you understand that, madame Waldorf?" François tapped on Blair's shoulder.

"Eh, what? Sorry, François…"

"Doesn't matter, madame. I said there is a family from New York and maybe you shouldn't come near them. We don't want another break down…"

Blair sighed. "No we don't, François, thank you. You may leave now."

François nodded and ran off. He was quite attractive, if you watched him closely. He had a beautiful dark skin, with short, black hair. Most people, including Blair, thought he was average, but he had the most amazing eyes. She was more attracted to dark, deep eyes, but he was an exception. He had marvellous, green eyes, which were brighter than the sun in summer. Blair shook her head and walked over to the bar. Not even 5 steps further, she froze.

Two very rich, very handsome looking men were standing across the room, talking to another about something that obviously didn't concern the 4 kids behind them. Her heart stopped beating at the second she recognized them. She wasn't the only one who didn't change a lot over 14 years. The men turned around as a pretty blonde came back from the ladies room and the 7 of them walked out, through another doorway.

It was impossible. It could not have been… just… no. What were Chuck Bass, Nate Archibald and Serena Vanderwoodsen doing in Paris? With 4 children? Blair shivered. Everything, her past, her secrets, was coming back to her, and she couldn't handle it. Stumbling on her high heels, Blair walked to the bar. She glared at the bartender and ordered, for the first time in 4 years, a glass of wine. The bartender hesitated, but the look on Blair's face didn't change, so he gave her a glass. It did not take very long for Blair to get drunk.

**~o~o~o~o~o**

"Okay, are we all set?" Nate asked when Serena returned from the ladies room. Brooke nodded as the ecstatic little girl she was, while the other three moaned and shrugged. Serena turned around to look at his oldest daughter, who looked like she was going to murder her father.

"O, come on Katie! It's Paris! After we have been to the Louvre, I will take you and your sisters out shopping. Maybe we can get you some nice shoes for the summer?"

Serena sounded a little desperate to bribe her 13-year-old into joining them to the famous museum, but she really didn't have a choice. If it was up to Kate, she would take all of her parent's money and examine the most expensive shops in Paris. Kate pouted her Chanel red lips and nodded. Serena smiled gratefully, and grabbed her husbands hand. Both Kate and her brother Collin were adopted by Serena and Nate, a few months after they got married. Chuck had tried to talk them out of it, but he just got ignored like usual. It wasn't a big of a deal anyway, if you'd ask him. His best friend might not listen to him, but he never really did, and there were more important people who actually did listen to him. They were paid to do it, but that didn't matter. As the most successful CEO of Bass Industries he was quite the man in New York. He was also the only one who still was alone.

Just about when he was going to check his e-mails as usual, a little voice appeared next to Chuck. Luna ran up until she was at his side, and looked up to him.

"Why aren't you happy we're in Paris?" She said, with a very suspicious look on her face. She got that from her father, probably. He smirked at her.

"Why do you think I'm not?" He replied. Luna looked at him, and pretended to pluck a beard she didn't have.

"Well," she said, "you look sad. But not in the usual way."

"O, do I?"

"No offence, Uncle Chuck. You're pretty cool and stuff, but you look like you lost something."

Chuck looked at Luna. No one ever told her about Blair, but it was astonishing how much she understood by just looking at him.

"Yeah," Chuck said after a little while, "I guess you could say that."

Apparently, Luna didn't have a clue she was right about that before and looked shocked at him.

"You serious? I am actually right about something! I have to tell Kate!" Luna already started running of, but decided to stay, out of curiosity, "What did you lose, then, Uncle Chuck?" She fluttered with her eyelashes, with in mind the theory she could seduce him for information. That kid had been hanging out with him for too long, Chuck though, but he couldn't suppress a chuckle.

"Not that it is any of your business, but a long time ago, there was a woman I was madly in love with. She was your mother's best friend, actually, and mine as well. One day, she just disappeared."

The two of them stared at each other, Luna calculating, Chuck just like always, until a hard scream and someone crying made them look up. They were not far behind, but it took Chuck several minutes to get to the others. He was not made for running, especially not in one of his favourite suits.

Apparently Brooke was the one who had fallen. While crying like, well, like the little girl she actually was, both Serena and Nate were in a state of panic.

"LOOK AT HER, NATE! SHE CAN'T WALK LIKE THIS!" Serena yelled, while pointing at her daughter. Chuck, who hadn't notice the weird angle of Brooke's leg, looked at his friends.

"What's the big deal? She fell, so what? Nate, pick her up and carry her to the Louvre. She can watch paintings from your back, can't she?" Chuck sighed and straightened his jacket and scarf. Nate looked at him and shook his head, but he didn't answer.

"No way uncle Chuck! Can't you see her leg? Biology wasn't my best subject, really, but I think it's broken!" Collin said. Chuck stepped closer to the still crying Brooke and inspected her leg. It did look funny. He shrugged and grabbed his phone.

"Fine," he said, "I'll call the limo and we'll bring her to the hospital."

Serena nodded, tears streaming down her cheeks. In a motherly moment she hugged a struggling Luna.

**~o~o~o~o~o**

Everything was black for a moment, only to become red the moment after. Blair heard two women yelling at each other in French. She couldn't hear everything, she blood rushed too much. It was the only thing she could hear.

**~o~o~o~o~o**

It wasn't that the hospital was very far away, but trying to get Brooke in the limo was one of the hardest things they have ever done. Especially while both Serena and Kate were crying and yelling at Nate. Brooke kept on crying as well, which left Luna frustrated. Together with Collin, Chuck tried to keep Brooke calm. It wasn't easy, but they managed to get her in without any French complaints.

The woman behind the counter looked at them like they were insects. It was obvious she didn't like any American tourists. She glared at Nate and Chuck before calling a doctor. Weakly she told them to put Brooke down at one of the beds at the SEH, the only spot where there was place left, apparently.

They weren't allowed to stay with Brooke. The doctor had told them to leave, so they had left. Chuck, Nate and Serena had settled in the waiting area, while Collin, Kate and Luna went to the cafeteria. Serena sobbing, Nate calling the insurance company, and Chuck… well, Chuck being Chuck, they waited. After an hour, something woke them up. A group of medics and someone on a crash cart came running in. It weren't the medics that interested Chuck so much, it was the young girl.

"She can't understand you if you keep speaking French, you idiot!" The girl yelled, while sobbing. She was about 15 years old, and looked pretty. Her hair was dyed blond, but her eyes were brown. She looked a lot like… Blair… Chuck knew it was impossible, but the young lady was a mirror image of a younger Blair. Serena and Nate looked at the girl as well.

"SHE IS AMERICAN! MAYBE IF YOU'D JUST TRY ENGLISH, SHE MIGHT UNDERSTAND YOU IN THIS STATE!"

The medics ignored her until she followed them into an ER. Some woman stopped her and pointed at the seating area, next to Chuck. She nodded and walked over. She smiled at them and Chuck smiled back.

"What happened to your…?" Serena asked. She was still sobbing as well, and the girl looked like she could use some understanding.

"My mother, actually. She was in a car accident. I should call my aunt…" the girl answered.

"Oh, I am so sorry for you. Our daughter broke her leg, but that's nothing compared to a car accident of course…" Serena smiled at the young girl, who smiled back.

"She'll be fine. My mom owns this hospital –well, actually my aunt does, but the doctors are incredible." They nodded at each other and the girl took out her phone. The way she moved and talked and looked was familiar. They stayed silent for a while, until someone called the girl. She nodded and walked away.

Chuck sighed, straightened his clothes, and walked to a room where the victim from before was brought in; the mother of the girl. She was still alive and looked… beautiful. She was about 30 years old, maybe a little older. She had brown curls and a sun-kissed skin. She didn't move, and her body and face were covered in wounds. But she was still recognizable. She still looked like the girl from 14 years ago. Shocked, Chuck called for Serena and Nate. With a look of disbelief in their eyes, they stared at their lost friend, Blair Waldorf, completely missing the dark-haired woman who just walked in the room.

**~o~o~o~o~o**

Christine Elizabeth Bass walked in slowly. Careful she sat down next to Blair's bed. It didn't take long before Blair woke up. For a second, they just stared at each other, Christine worried, Blair empty.

"You look like shit," Christine mentioned. She didn't say it in a mean way, but playful. Blair let out a small laugh, which turned into a harsh cough in little time.

"You look worse," she replied when she is recovered. Semi-offended, Christine brushed her dark hair out her face.

"Apparently you still look better than me, even after a car accident." Both of them laughed, but the uncomfortable silence that comes after is inevitable. "What happened, B?"

Blair looked away and shrugged. "Something. I had one drink."

"'_Something' _is not good enough of an answer, Blair! And you did not have one drink, you had 27. I checked with the bartender."

"I can't remember 27. He must be mistaking. People sometimes do that."

"You might not remember, but he didn't lie to me. Not after I threatened to make sure he wouldn't be able to get accepted anywhere." Christine said, her voice raised, "Please, B, tell me what made you drink 3 glasses of wine, and entire bottle of very expensive champagne and several other drinks I wasn't even aware of we served!"

Blair closed her eyes and sighed. "I thought… I thought I saw someone I didn't expected to see. I'm sorry. Don't be mad, C, please…"

Christine sighed too. For a while she didn't react and Blair wondered if she could have accepted what happened. But then Christine placed her hand over Blair's and Blair grabbed it with a graceful smile

"I'm not mad and I won't be. You're my best friend and business partner, B, I was just worried."

"Thank you, Chris, you have no idea how much it means to me you can be so understanding. Where is Rosie?"

"Out to get Yale and Tiffany's. She had been here way too long and I told her you would be happy to see them, or something like that."

Blair nodded, but then asked what she had wanted to ask for a while. "Have you told her what happened?"

Christine shook her head. "No. I felt it wasn't my place to tell her. She thinks you just were in some accident, she doesn't know any details."

"I know Rose deserves to know, but…"

"You can't tell her? It's fine, B, if you want to, I can do it for you."

Blair looked up, only to see her best friend smiling down at her. "Are you really willing to do that for me?"

"Well," Christine said, with an even bigger smile, "I wasn't exactly waiting for it, but because it's you." Blair smiled back and after a minute or two, Christine stood up.

"I'm going out, get some coffee and food, you want anything?"

"No, thank you."

"Okay. Next time I'll be back, I'll have a very understanding Rosalyn Waldorf with me." And with that she walks out.

**~o~o~o~o~o**

Still in a state of shock, Chuck, Nate and Serena were looking through the window. Blair still hadn't noticed them. The pretty woman who she had been talking to walked out of the room, but froze when she saw them staring. With an extremely annoyed look on her face, she started to yell at them.

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU AND WHAT ARE YOU DOING STARING AT MY BEST FRIEND?!"

Behind them, a few guests in the waiting area looked up. The blonde girl from before wasn't there anymore. Chuck's guess was the woman in front of them had sent her away.

"_Your_ best friend? She is _my_ best friend! I – no, _we_ – have every right to be here," Serena said after pursing her lips like she did before she punished her children.

"Best friend? Best friend my ass! If the two of you are so close, then why haven't I seen you around at all?" The woman said, this time calmer, but in a sinister way, "I don't know who you are and I don't care, but this is my hospital, so please leave." She was on her way to the lift already, before Nate stopped her.

"I'm so sorry, miss, but our daughter is here too and we recognized your friend as someone we lost a long time ago."

The woman turned around and stared at Nate. Chuck expected she would hit him, she looked like someone who would, but instead her face dropped. A look of disbelief appeared.

"O my… You are… This is impossible. I can't believe Blair was right… I thought it was the stress…" she shook her head and looked at the three. "Come with me, staying here would only upset Blair."

Chuck shook his head and stepped closer to the woman. "No, I want to speak with her, _now_". She looked at him with something that looked like… conception…

"I'm sorry, you can't. Not yet, I mean. You can speak with her after I explained you some things. Now, please follow me, Chuck."

He didn't even wonder about how she knew his name. He didn't even hear it, actually. He looked at his only love one more time and then followed the others to the waiting area.

**~o~o~o~o~o**

It was certainly unbelievable, if you would have asked Christine. She knew everything about Blair's past and secrets, but meeting them in real life was one hell of a different story. She sat down and was followed by the others. She already knew who they were, just judging by their appearances. Although Blair's pictures were old, they hadn't changed much. Christine coughed and looked up, to find them staring at her like she was an ugly insect.

"My name is Christine, but that doesn't really matter. My guess is you are Charles Bass, Nathaniel Archibald and Serena VanderWoodsen." Serena and Chuck nodded, but Nate interrupted with a small: "Serena Archibald, actually."

Christine ignored him and went on. "Blair told me about you, showed me some old photographs of you. That's how I knew who you are." She looks at their faces and immediately connects them with the stories Blair told her. It was suprises how their reactions were different from each other. Nate and Serena looked worried, while Chuck looked… sad. Like actually cared for Blair. Giving their relationship, this wasn't really hard for her to imagine.

"Does she still have photo's of me? Of us, I mean?" Chuck asked with a certain force in his voice. Christine nods.

"Not a lot, she seems to want to hide her past, but not forget it. If she did want to forget, she might have wanted to take away the photos and the other things."

"which other things," Nate asked.

"The jewelry, clothing and shoes." Christine shrugged. "She puts a lot of effort into keeping them the way they were. They mean a lot to her."

Chuck smirked in a way she was known for. Maybe that's why Blair always looked so sad when she did that. She had met her best friend in a bar 14 years ago, the first day Blair officially lived in France. They had become friends instantly. Maybe it was because of Chuck this happened.

"Blair spoke a lot of the 'old days' when we were alone. Her favourite topic were the many occasions the two of you teamed up," she said, looking at Chuck. "I think her most used words on that occasion were: 'the king and queen of Darkness, saving the asses of their idiot friends." She laughed, and Chuck grinned, remembering the things Blair would have told her. Serena and Nate looked at each other. After a second or 12, Christine pulled herself together and got serious again.

"Look, I know you want to see her, but there are some things you need to know and I am the only one able to tell you. But you have to wait until Rosalyn comes here."

Both Serena and Chuck shook their heads.

"Can't you at least tell what happened to her? And who the hell is Rosalyn?" Serena asks. Christine shakes her head.

"Rose deserves to know what happened, too. I can't tell all of you at the same time if you just wait."

**~o~o~o~o~o**

Just after Christine told them to wait for a girl named Rose, the 15-year old from earlier walked in, this time with 2 dogs by her side. She still looked sad, but less. Lost, she looked around, until she saw Christine. One of her dogs barked and Christine turned, smiled, and winked her. When the girl arrived, she looked back at the others.

"You won't say a word until I'm done, okay?" she asked, and Chuck, Nate and Serena nodded their heads in agreement.

"What's going on?" the girl asked, "when can I see my mom?"

"In a second, sweetie," Christine soothed, "First, I have to tell you something." The smile on the face of the girl disappeared and she sat down, picking up one of her dogs. Christine nodded and placed her hand over the girls'. Then she turned around, facing Chuck in particular.

"As you may have noticed already, this is Rose," she didn't wait for anyone to react, "And I assume you all have some brain cells in those heads, so this can't be too hard for you either. Please contain yourselves. Rose full name is Rosalyn Charlotte. She is Blair's daughter."

Serena squeaked, almost choking on her own tears. Nate didn't react and Chuck only stared at Christine and Rose.

"How is this of any relevance? And who are these people, Chris?" Rose asked, looking at Christine. The woman shook her head and ignored her questions.

"Before you ask," Christine continued, "No, I don't know who Rosie's father is. Blair never told me. But she is right; this is not the most relevant thing going on right now. I've known Blair for about 14, 15 years. I even took care of her daughter before she was able to. After 3 or 4 years, when Rose was about… well, 6, Blair developed a condition. An alcohol problem. I know why, but I can't tell. Last night- and this concerns you too, Rose- she fell back into some old habits. Make that 27. In a weird thought she decided It was a good time for a little trip."

Rose jumped up. "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! DRIVING WHILE DRUNK?!" she yelled. Her look was full of disbelief.

"Actually, Rose," Christine replied, "She had an accident while parking. She was about 15 meters away from home."

**~o~o~o~o~o**

"If you want, madame, you can leave today. Your injuries weren't that bad and your friends need a place to stay." The nurse said while Blair was changing into the clothes Christine had brought her. It was a beautiful dress of green chiffon with some gold accents. She had just finished changing when she turned around.

"My friends? They're supposed to be only two people waiting for me." She said, slightly uncomfortable. She already felt something was going to happen, and it was going to be something she wouldn't like very much.

"Madame, there are nine people waiting for you." The nurse retorted, looking up. Blair, still confused, picked up her bags and walked out her room, only to find Christine, Rose and… _them_.

"Apparently I wasn't mistaking when I saw you at my hotel," Blair said, coldly. She had been the Ice Queen for many years, a role she could play with ease right now as well. She raised her left eyebrow and looked at Serena and Nate. She refused to look at Chuck. It wasn't that she was afraid, no; she felt she might cry if she looked at him. Christine quickly took over her bags and Rose ran to her mother.

"Mommy! I was so scared!" she cried.

"I'm sorry, sweetie, I don't know what I was thinking. I promise you, I'll sell the car if you want to…" Blair hugged her daughter like she was the one who almost died.

"Hell no!" Christine said, with her classic smirk, "You're not going to sell that car! Do I need to remind you the cars are mine?" Blair smiled at her and hugged her too.


	3. Note :

**Uhm, yeah. So I found this old story and I liked it, so I posted it. I might not have looked for the other part when I posted it...**

**..**.

**There is no other part... **

**But I like writing, so I am trying to finish this story in several chapters, but I'd like to keep it the same length as the other chapters, so it might take a little bit longer before I post another chapter. Also, the writing style might be a little bit different and I guess there will appear some mistakes, but I'll be doing my best! I have a lot of ideas how to continue with this particular story and I hope I'll be able to update soon! **

**Thank you very much for reading, you are my new favorite person in the world. Thank you :)**


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N so I sort of bought this notebook and started writing this in class... I am pretty sure it won't be of the same caliber as the other chapters and I'd be absolutely fine with you telling me your thoughts (hint, hint). There were some gaps in the part I wrote years ago, so I filled them up using my imagination. I'm a big Criminal Minds (and other shows like Criminal Minds) fan, so... I trust you get my hint ;) **

They were still looking at the three girls, not reacting. Behind them, Nate's kids walked up to them, Collin carrying his little sister. She was just released from the hospital, just like Blair. It wasn't Collin – the smart one- who recognized Blair, it was Luna. The 8 year old girl dropped everything in her hands and started running towards her uncle.

"O my god," the little girl breathed. She stared at Blair in genuine disbelief. Her father looked down at her.

"You know that woman, sweetie?" He asked. Luna frowned but didn't react. Blair did.

"Sweetie?" she asked, with her eyebrows raised. She had shaken off her daughters and best friends hands of her arms and still hadn't even glanced at the man she always thought would be her soul mate. Nate nodded at her and grabbed Serena's hand in a reflex. Blair didn't pay any attention to her ex-boyfriend and ex-best friend. Because that was all they were… weren't they?

"Serena and I have 4 beautiful children," Nate said, interrupting Blair's thoughts, "Collin Eric, Katherine Jenny, Luna Blair and Brooklyn Vanessa."

Blair laughed, but without humour. She sounded far from happy. Sad was a better word for her tone. Luna narrowered her eyes and glared at the stunning woman suspiciously.

"You're the girl from the photo's," she said, boldly. Serena gasped and Nate turned around, ready to tell his daughter off, but Blair only raised her hand. She glanced at Christine, who nodded at her. Blair ignored Luna and her obvious statement.

"It's late. You might as well stay at my mansion tonight. François already told me you didn't pay for your rooms," she sighed, and purshed her lips. Serena nodded quickly, with a small smile of relief on her lips, but both Chuck and Nate were stunned. Their mouths hang open in disbelief.

"Are you… are you going to let us stay? In your house? With you?" Chyck asked, his voice laced with sarcasm. Blair nodded without looking at him.

"It's all thanks to Christine over her," she muttered and sent an angry look to her best friend, who was now playing with Tiffany's. Christine looked up and smirked.

"What happened to our rooms?" Collin asked. He, Kate and Brooke had followed the entire conversation without saying a single word.

"You did not pay, so you do not get to stay," Christine answered, shrugging indifferently, "But there's no need to worry, there are enough empty rooms for every one of you."

"And what about our luggage?"

"I made sure your bags were brought to the mansion," she stated, rolling her eyes. That made the young man shut up and in silence, the group exited the hospital. Chuck was glaring at Blair and Blair was avoiding Chuck.

**~o~o~o~o~o**

"So, this is it," Christine said when they had arrived. It wasn't that Christine didn't have an apartment herself, she had, somewhere in the centre of Paris, but she enjoyed staying at the Waldorf mansion and she called it her home as well. It was a large, statuesque building with an even more impressive garden. A few maids were walking around with flowers and decorations as if there was a party planned. It was already late and a pretty but fragile girl with a French accent asked Christine and Blair if they wished to have dinner inside or outside. Before either of them could answer, Rose interrupted.

"Outside, Eva," she demanded, sounding exactly like her mother would, and Eva nodded.

"You have maids?" Serena asked confused.

"It's a mansion," Christine retorted as if that would be the explanation to everything.

Except for Chuck, who kept his eyes on Blair the entire time, everyone looked around in awe. When they had reached the oversized entrance doors, Blair quickly slipped away, followed by her daughter. Chuck was the only one who noticed them leaving.

Christine gave them a small tour around the mansion. Briefly she showed them serveral rooms including the inside pool (it was huge with energy-generating waterfalls), the library, the guest room (which would be big enough to fit several hundred people in it), the dining room and a room she called "the food room". Basically, the last room was just a very large fridge. It was pretty clear Blair had not had full control while decorating since there also was an alcohol cellar filled with bottles of expensive scotch instead of bottles of expensive Champaign.

"And these would be your rooms," Christine said bubbly as they reached a hall with four large wooden doors, "In my opinion this house is better than the hotel, but it doesn't have room service."

Distracted, she turned around and faced Chuck. At this moment, Chuck decided it would be a wise idea to examine Blair's new best friend closely. She was about his height and had dark, smooth hair, similar to his. Her skin was lights and almost flawless, her jawline relatively strong and her almond shaped eyes were hazel coloured. It was as if she was a female mirror image of him. He wasn't even aware of Christine telling something about a room when he interrupted her.

"What's your name?" he said. It wasn't a question. She looked at him, but didn't answer. Chuck repeated his question.

"What. Is. Your. Name?" he asked slowly, emphasizing every word. "Your full, real name."

Christine looked down, avoiding his eyes, and muttered something about the wrong time and the wrong place.

"Not now. Later." She said and Chuck narrowed his eyes. He accepted her answer as he knew she would tell him in one way or another. In silence, the other rooms were showed and a few maids, including the pretty blonde from before, brought in their bags.

"Can we go eat now?" Kate whined and she pouted. She might have been a pretty girl, but she looked too tired to pull It off successfully. Christine smirked and nodded.

"We're eating outside. After that, Rose will show you how to return to your rooms."

"Why can't daddy come with us?" Brooke asked, grabbing her father's hand. Nate lifted her on his arm and she pushed her forehead against his cheek. He wanted to answer something re-assuring, but Christine interrupted him before he could open his mouth.

"Daddy has some things to listen to, but I assure you, Rose is very sweet."

Brooke nodded and they followed Christine, who had walked away already.

**~o~o~o~o~o**

During most of dinner, Serena and Nate were the ones to talk. Blair kept rather silent and both Rose and Chuck watched her closely. Once in a while Blair smiled and mentioned something to Rose, Christine or sometimes even Collin and Kate. The meal might have been a little quite, but the food was extra ordinary. There were five different sorts of meat and fish, an entire garden full of vegetables and fruits and more desserts with chocolate than you could find in Willy Wonka's factory. For Brooke and Luna was it heaven, for Blair and Christine was it hell. The two women had much more in common than they already knew. Slowly sipping their scotch, Chuck and Christine glared at each other, both waiting for the children to finish and leave. After her third dessert, an extremely large bowl of chocolate ice cream, Brooke was done as well. She was last to finish and Luna wasn't the only one who had become impatient. Blair sighed and looked at her own daughter.

"Honey, could you please bring them to their rooms. Their on the floor below ours."

Rose nodded and stood op, taking Brooke's hand. It was late and the little girl was more than tired. She was exhausted. She didn't even give her mother and father a goodnight kiss. Christine stood up, making an attempt to walk away, but Blair stopped her before she could leave.

"No. You will stay."

Christine nodded and sat down again, pouring herself another scotch. Blair sighed and closed her eyes briefly. She never wished for anyone to let it turn out like this. As one person, Chuck, Nate and Serena began to speak.

"if you'd all shut up, I'll answer your questions." Blair groaned. It was more than obvious she didn't want to tell them anything, but they chose to ignore. Well, _Chuck_ chose to ignore. He wasn't even sure if Nate and Serena even knew how uncomfortable Blair was. The blondes never were very intelligent. Still, Serena was the one who asked the first question.

"Why- why did you leave?" she asked, but before Blair could answer something, she replaced her question, "What happened to you? And we want the _entire _story."

Blair sighed and grabbed another macron from the table.

"Okay, fine." She muttered. "When I left New York City and the Upper East Side, I was 19 years old. Almost 20." Blair avoided her old friends eyes and looked in the distance. "Several years before that, I found out I was pregnant."

Serena gasped and grabbed one of her old best friends hands.

"Was it that time you thought you were but then weren't?" she asked softly. Blair nodded.

"But that wasn't the reason why I left. I mean, it was, but not the only one."

Now Nate grabbed her other hand.

"What was it? Something I- I mean, we- did?"

Chuck didn't like him holding _his _only love's hand, but decided to wait before scolding at his own supposed-to-be best friend. He knew Nate wasn't that bright.

"If you'd just listen to her story," Christine drawled slowly. She was more than familiar to Chuck. Nate nodded and released Blair's hand, which he had held tightly.

"It was not something you did. I never believed it was one of you," Blair continued after a grateful look meant for Christine. Her words left the others in confusion. "Before I even _knew _I was pregnant, I received threats to leave New York."

Serena gasped for air again and Chuck's eyes darkened. He didn't care she'd left him. He didn't care she'd moved on, but if he could find the man or woman threatening his, _his_ Blair, he would-

Blair's voice interrupted his thoughts. "As I left for a little while, the threats stopped. When they didn't return when _I_ had returned as well, I thought it had all been a joke… Until… until…" Blair's eyes filled with tears and Christine handed her another macron. Blair gulped and tried to control her emotions, succeeding as always.

"Until I became pregnant again." She said, and for the first time, she looked at Chuck directly, her dark eyes connected to his. "This time, it was definitely yours."

Everyone felt silent, and after a while, Blair continued.

"I stayed with my father and Roman for some time –they had taken care of Rose too- and met Christine. She convinced me to move to Paris and build up a business. As you all probably know, that would be the hotel." She stopped. Both Chuck and Christine were fully aware this wasn't the entire story, but to their surprise, Serena had noticed too.

"That's not the whole story, is it?" she said, eyes narrowed. Slowly, Blair shook her head.

"No. There have been a few… happenings at certain times." She looked down, changed her mind, and glanced at Christine. "Would you…?"

The woman nodded and cleared her throat. She looked directly at Chuck- and only at Chuck.

"You've asked me what my name was." She said, "Well, that would be Christine Elizabeth Bass –and before you ask-, yes, I actually am your sister. My, or better, our, mother gave me up for adoption. I ended up in France. When I heard you lived in New York, I thought I could go, but Bart stopped me. He paid me millions if I'd never stepped in New York ever again. I was in need of the money, so I accepted. When I returned, I met Blair, who apparently knew you. I'm Rose' godmother and I used to be Charles' too."

In genuine confusion, Chuck stared at Christine. _His sister_. He had been waiting to ask what happened to Blair's second child –_their _child-, but he realised now it must not have been something good if Christine would be the one who had to tell it. He glared at Blair, who immediately understood he wanted the answer from her, not Christine.

"When I moved to Paris for good, I was pregnant of a son. _Your _son, obviously." She looked at Chuck, "He was born in the exact same hospital we just got out of. I… I mean, we, called him Charles Henry. He was adorable and sweet and full of potential-" Blair fell silent and Christine continued for her.

"At age three, he died."


	5. Chapter 4

**A/N So, I was writing this chapter when I was supposed to study Social Studies (Social Studies is like the worst subject ever. It's worse than Mathematics and German combined) (not that I don't like Germany) (I love Germany) (It's just that I really sucked in German and my best friend and I were always chatting about not-German-things) and I was really worried I was going to fuck up the test… turned out it was really, really easy… I did forget about Geography and Maths, though, so I'm going to have to catch up with those very, very soon. Anyway, that is why I'm studying really hard right now which will affect my story a little bit, probably. Make that a lot. I hate Geography. And Maths. Stupid subjects. I don't need to know how I need to divide fractions or how Strato volcano's get created (apparently two plates push each other up and there is something about a hot spot…)… I'm rambling… Anyway, thank you sooooo much for reading and please review! **

Serena sobbed and embraced Blair, but Blair only stared blankly in the distance.

"How did he die?" Nate asked. It was a question they all wanted to ask. This time, instead of Christine, Blair answered.

"She was only six years old," Blair whispered, "I'm quite sure she doesn't even remember what she did…" she shook her head in desperation, as if that would make the memory go away. She glanced back at Christine. Behind them, someone gasped. No one noticed.

"What… what exactly did she do?" Chuck asked, his voice sounded broken. Blair looked up to him, her doe brown eyes filled with tears.

"Don't hate her." She cried, "I'm sure it was an accident."

"What exactly did she do?" he repeated his question, this time with a softer voice. Blair seemed incapable of an answer, so Christine did it for her.

"We don't know. One day we came back from the hotel and everything… everything was just covered in his blood. It is astonishing how much blood can come out of such a small boy…" Christine drifted off. She looked sad, but wasn't crying like Serena or Blair. Instead of that, she just poured herself another scotch. She truly was Chuck's sister.

"Was his death the reason for you… problem?" Nate asked. Everyone knew what he was referring to. Blair nodded.

"One of many."

"What were the others?"

"Everything… Charlie's death was just too much."

Serena nodded, but Chuck just kept glaring at Blair. He couldn't tell exactly how he felt, Blair always did that for him. She knew him better than he knew himself. Slowly, he examined her, to see how much she had changed over the years. She was still beautiful, but now she looked rather tired. Her hair was shorter and ligter, thanks to the sun constantly shining upon her curls. Her breasts seemed bigger and her hips wider, but her stomach was still flat as always. She had lost her petite, fragile body, but regained something better. Christine stood up and glanced at Nate and Serena.

"Let me bring you back to your rooms," she said softly. Serena understood immediately what the brunette wanted and grabbed the hand of her very confused husband.

"Come on, honey," she said sweetly, dragging him back to the mansion.

"I'll check on Rose," Christine muttered, before turning her back on the brunettes, and following the blondes. When they were alone, Blair looked up. The light of the lamps strategically placed outside, fell on her face and curls. Something sparkled around her neck and Chuck's eyes darkened. Blair placed her hand over the diamond Erickson Beamon necklace he had given her many years ago.

"I see you still have the present I gave you for your seventeenth birthday." He said and Blair nodded.

"Why?"

Uncomfortably, Blair adjusted her headband.

"Well, it's a lovely piece and my seventeenth birthday was one of my favourite after all."

It came out of her mouth before she realised what she had said. Weirdly, it wasn't even a lie. Her seventeenth birthday was indeed her favourite.

"Do you miss New York City?" he asked. On the surface, it seemed it had no further meanings, but Blair knew Chuck.

She nodded. "Yes."

"Did you miss Serena?"

"Yes."

"Nate?"

"Yes."

"Me?"

This time, Blair kept silent. He glared at her and repeated his question, emphasizing each word by slowly leaning forward after every pause.

"Did. You. Miss. Me. At all?"

No reaction.

"Blair?"

Still nothing.

Chuck sighed and stood up, straightening the jacket of his suit.

"I guess that would be a no, then. How could I be surprised… You're still the cold hearted bitch you always were."

He made an attempt to walk away, but after a few meters, Blair answered.

"There is _no one _I missed more than you," she whispered, "_Nothing_ that I loved more about New York and the Upper East Side than you."

She looked up and walked over to him, until they could look each other in the eyes. He doe brown eyes were filled with tears. "The _hardest_ thing I've ever done was leaving you."

Chuck looked away. He just couldn't look at her not like this. Blair gulped and closed her eyes. A single tear made its path across her cheek.

"I know you hate me, and you have full right to, but-"

Before she could finish, he interrupted her.

"I don't hate you. I never could and never will."

She looked up to him and their eyes connected.

"Why not? I… I left you…"

"But with a sufficient reason."

She smiled weakly and Chuck pulled her into a tight embrace. It felt so terribly good to feel her again. Suddenly, he felt the overwhelming urge to taste her again, to taste every single part of her body, every single inch of her perfect, flawless skin. They were 35, they were adults, but standing there with her like this made him feel like the head-over-heels 17 year old again, and he realised he still was. He still was madly in love with Blair Waldorf.

They stood in the garden for what it seemed ages, just like that, tightly holding each other, until Christine disturbed them.

"Although I'm ecstatic the two of you made up, there is something you might want to know."

Blair rubbed her eyes and raised an eyebrow at her friend.

"What made you think we made up?" she asked. Chuck's smile faded and he could feel her words heavily in his stomach. Christine smirked.

"Haven't you?" she asked, mirroring Blair's expression.

"We have, but-"

"Well, then it doesn't really matter, does it? Especially not with this going on…"

Blair's expression dropped instantly and she looked worried. Chuck froze. The tone in Christine's voice told him something very bad was coming up next. It turned out he was right.

**~o~o~o~o~o**

"Rose is gone."

"What?"

"We can't find her anywhere… some clothes have disappeared as well."

"Where have you looked?"

"Everywhere. I'm so sorry, B, but she's nowhere to be found."

Blair's face slowly turned red and her eyes darkened. Before she could murder a nearby maid or even Christine herself, Chuck interjected.

"Maybe she just ran away to friends. It's normal for teenagers to run when they're in shock. That's exactly what I did when Bart died, remember?"

Blair nodded slowly, still watching Christine. She seemed to have calmed down a bit and Chuck looked at his sister. Of everything that had happened today, him having a sister actually seemed most likely.

"Have you called her friends?"

Christine nodded.

"And..?"

Her worried glance at Blair was his answer. Rose wasn't with her friends. Christine embraced her best friend hesitantly and tried to assure her softly.

"There is no need for you to worry so much, B. Tomorrow is Harold's yearly masquerade and you know how much she loves that."

"Do you think she'll be there?"

"I know she will. She spent months looking for the perfect dress. She'll never skip."

The two women smiled at each other, but Chuck could see both of them were still worried. In silence, they walked back to the mansion, their eyes focused on their own feet.

**~o~o~o~o~o**

"What is this 'big event' really?" Chuck muttered. He had offered to help Christine and Blair find Rose at Harold's event. He was standing in his room in the Waldorf mansion and looked in the mirror. Christine sat behind him, fully dressed in a teal Ellie Saab gown of the 2012 Resort collection. Bored, she was painting her nails in a matching colour, sitting on his bed. Her loose dark hair contrasted with her pale skin. In a different world he would have seduced her into sleeping with him, but now… even if he hadn't known she was his sister, he still wouldn't have tried. He had the one thing he'd always wanted back and he was planning on never losing it again. Behind him, Christine rolled her eyes and handed him a pastel purple bow tie.

"Do I really need to be the one to remind you _you_ were the one to offer to come with us?" she blew on her hands and inspected her nails. Chuck was still glaring at her through the mirror. She sighed when she noticed.

"It's a society event held every year. It's like Cotillion, only French. If you're wealthy or extremely good-looking or the heir of a big company, you're allowed to come. Actually, you're sort of obligated to come."

"So, why are you going then? I mean, not counting the actual purpose." He smirked. Christine rolled her eyes again and took his glass of scotch.

"Well, if you haven't noticed yet," she drawled seductively, "Blair and I are très belle."

She flipped her dark hair over her shoulder and boldly drank the rest of his scotch. Their eyes connected and she smirked.

"Stop drinking my scotch, sis," Chuck drawled, snatching away the glass. Christine looked at him, growing a wicked grin.

"_Sis_? Well, I certainly did not expect you to be to family-like with me so soon…" She grabbed her mask from the bed and turned around graceful, so he could bind the ribbons together. It was a beautiful Victorian mask, covered with miniscule diamonds, sapphires and emeralds to match her dress. While he tied the silky black ribbons together, she continued with an arrogant attitude.

"And it's _my_ scotch. I paid for it, so actually, _brother_, I'm drinking my own very expensive alcohol."

"But very fine, expensive alcohol," he corrected her, and she playfully bent her head in her defeat.

"Why 'sis', though?" she asked as they trailed down the hallways. Chuck shrugged, which was something that was not like him at all.

"Must be the similarities," he drawled and he glanced at Christine.

"Didn't know we had those," she retorted and raised an eyebrow. He didn't answer her anymore, because at that exact moment, Blair walked in. Even though she was still covered with bruises and wounds of the accident, she had managed to look stunning anyways. She was wearing a gorgeous pastel purple Marchesa gown. Her curls fell loose over her back and shoulders and her ruby red lips held a small smile. She looked like a matured angels from heaven in Chuck's eyes, so different from the ice cold bitch she always used to be. Blair walked closer, statuesque as the queen she was.

"I see the two of you have made up as well," she said with a familiar smirk. Someone who did not know Blair as well as Chuck or Christine would have said she was just very, very calm, but they both knew that if Blair's problem was not fixed soon, there would be pieces of Blair Waldorf all over the wall and neither of them want to clean up the mess.

"Last time she was so calm was after Charlie's death," Christine muttered softly. They both were still looking at Blair.

"What happened after?" Chuck asked, although he already knew the answer. Still, Christine replied. With concern laced in her voice she softly said:

"She nearly drank herself to death…"

Blair smiled at them, not noticing their discourse. Chuck smiled back and offered her his hand.

"You look absolutely breath taking. Now, shall we go?"

**A/N I promised some people (thank you for reviewing and messaging me, btw) I was going to reveal who Rose's father is in this chapter. You probably can see I failed. Well, not exactly, since I decided to postpone that 'til the next chapter. I'm **_**almost**_** entirely sure that **_**everyone **_**(well, almost everyone) (hint, hint) will know who her father is… Also, I might have told some people already… I am seriously incapable of keeping things secret. I… I just can't… There was something else I wanted to say, but I forgot ^^ **


	6. Chapter 5

**A/N Someone asked me, why the masquerade? Well, I had some fun with Lyst these chapters (so this one and the last one) and I found this gorgeous –GORGEOUS- Erickson Beamon mask and I just NEEDED to use it in one of my stories. I first thought Blair should wear it, because it wouldn't look good on Christine because of her dark hair (if you can't visualise Christine, I will give a description) and I thought Blair should match with Chuck (and he seriously can't wear a black bow-tie) so, then I decided Rose should wear the Erickson Beamon mask and then I just made EVERYBODY wear a mask (I'm a big fan of masquerades, especially when there's good food involved) So now I am adding links for the dresses of Blair, Rose and Christine (and Rose's mask as well) (:**

**(You should remove the spaces)**

_**www. lyst clothing /marchesa-ruched-bust-gown /?ctx=333246**_**  
(Blair Dress)**

_**www. Weddinginspirasi wp-content /uploads /2011 /09 **_**  
(Christine's dress **** the right one)**

_**www. lyst clothing /herve-leger-embellished-bandage-gown-black /?ctx=333246**_**  
(Rose's Dress)**

_**www. lyst accessories /erickson-beamon-night-porter-22karat-goldplated-swarovski-crystal-mask-black /?ctx=333246  
**_**(Rose's mask)**

"So, this is it..?" Christine muttered disappointed. They had arrived at the gala, and until now they had been introduced to a few businessmen and real estate holders. Both Christine and Blair were eager to cut them off as soon as possible. Now they were standing on the balcony overlapping the enormous hall, scanning it in search of a 15-year-old blonde. The hall was filled with people. Rich looking men and women of all ages, famous socialites and businessmen. It would be a party the Van der Woodsen's would attend to, to take care of their social connections. He could almost see Lily and Bart politely laughing with colleagues and "friends". If only Bart was still alive. Chuck shook his head. He didn't miss his father at all, but sometimes Bart Bass just popped up in his mind. Chuck glanced at his sister and sipped his scotch.

"What else would you expect?" he asked with a smirk. Christine ignored his mocking tone and his and Blair's eyes connected.

"Last year everything was more extravagant and colourful," Blair explained, "It's more-or-less colourful and pretty big right now, but I got to say, the host could have done better."

"You really are a Bass, then." Chuck said, looking at Christine She rolled her eyes at him.

"I thought we already established that," she drawled with a natural air of arrogance. Suddenly, Blair lost every calm thought she still had and started to panic.

"_WHY _are we talking about useless, unimportant things like the two of you coming from the same alcoholic Basstard. YOU ALREADY KNEW THAT, CHRISTINE! No need to discuss that!" she practically started yelling at her best friend near the end. Christine placed her perfectly manicured hands on Blair's arms and stared at her. Slowly, she started speaking.

"Blair. Look at me. We are _casually chatting _about being sibling because it's supposed to keep you from freaking out and exploding."

Chuck nodded when Blair turned at him for help.

"She's right," he said, "We will focus on Rose. Actually, we already do."

Christine nodded as well and faked an excited smile. She was just as worried as Blair was.

"Now, she is wearing that black Hervé Léger gown with the marvellous black crystal Erickson Beamon mask." Her eyes scanned the crowd. "She'll be around Harold and Roman, and close to the dinner table, but also in any dark spots."

"You seem to know her behaviour quite well, sis." Chuck muttered, his voice laced with wrongly placed suspicion. Neither she nor Blair noticed and distracted, she shrugged.

"I used to a lot like her when I was younger. At least at events. Always there but never in the centre." She smirked. "But always near the food."

He let out a small chuckle and turned to face the dinner table, as Christine said. A few older women gossiping behind him distracted him from his search for Rose.

"Haven't you heard?" the oldest asked her friend in shock, "Blair Waldorf started drinking again!"

Chuck narrowed his eyes and he felt hatred growing inside him, but he didn't turned around and kept listening. One of the woman's friends agreed and added her part of gossip.

"_Everyone_ around here knows her past. She may be filthy rich and awfully successful, but google her once and you get the full story." The others giggled and she went on, proud with all the attention. "No wonder she became an alcoholic!"

"She just should have killed herself already," her friend added. She sounded cool and distant, as if she only said it to be part of the rest. The others snickered. An enraged Chuck turned around slowly and shot deadly looks at the women. They were with five, and in their fifties. They looked very much alike, with short grey hair. They looked like the chubby wives of the cheating chubby men.

"_What_ did you just say?" he said slowly, pronouncing each word very slowly. He had expected them to look frightened, but he was wrong. No one knew him around here and no one was intimidated by him. Certainly not the wives of men who were actually important. He was not the big bad Chuck Bass of New York City anymore, he was a nobody in Paris and he did not like that at all.

"Excusé-moi?" the oldest –and probably the leader- said. She stepped closer, but so did he.

"What. Did. You. Just. Say. About. Blair. Waldorf?" he narrowed his eyes by every next word he said.

"_That_ would be none of your business." She spoke threatening.

"It is." He coldly retorted, and he could see Christine had noticed his exchange with the women. She walked closer, but didn't interrupt. She just kept listening.

"Blair Waldorf is an _amazing_ young woman, with _far_ more potential and character than the five of you combined." He seethed. Christine smiled at him, but Chuck didn't notice. He was fully focused on his _mission _to make clear how perfect his… _his_ Blair was.

"You have absolutely _no _right to say she should have committed suicide!" he continued furious. "You don't know her at all. Blair is _perfection_. So shut the fuck up and never talk about her like that again you ancient set of b-"

A small hand clasped his mouth and he looked angrily at the person attached. Christine smiled sheepishly at the ladies and apologized to them. When they left, still slightly disturbed, she released Chuck and looked at him.

"That was the sweetest, most stupid thing I've ever heard." She said softly. He frowned.

"Stupid? What-"

"Those are the wives of our concurrent," she explained, "They are also the most influencing women in Paris. And now you fucked it up quite badly for me and Blair."

"O well, I'll apologize and I'll let Bass Industries buy their companies." He offered. She smirked at him.

"Hotels. And you don't have a choice, really." She winked playfully. "Anyway, I spotted Rose. You need to help me convince her to come back with us."

"Isn't that a job for Blair?"

She shook her head. "That won't work."

"Why not?"

"Because Blair and Rose are exactly alike. They're both controlling psycho bitches. Confronting them with each other will only end with and explosion if I don't talk to the girl first."

He frowned, but nodded. Both Rose and Blair had appeared stressed but pretty normal to him. Exactly like a control freak would appear to others.

"Okay, so where is she?" he asked, after glancing at Blair. She was talking to Roman.

"Ladies room," Christine simply said and dragged him with her.

**~o~o~o~o~o**

There was no one in the toilet except for two French women chatting and re-applying their make-up. Impatiently, Christine yelled something at them in French. Scared, the girls left, leaving Chuck and Christine alone in what appeared to be empty bathroom. Slowly, Christine pushed every door until she found the one locked. She kneeled. Chuck followed her movements and laid his ear on the door. He could hear Blair's daughter scolding herself softly.

"W- why did I e-ever think i-it would be a good i-idea to go-o?" she muttered. It was clear she had been crying.

"Rose? Rosie?" Christine asked softly. The whispers stopped and so did the sobs. Christine continued. "Hey sweetie… What are you doing here? Open the door, sweetheart"

Rose sobbed, but didn't open the door. "I'm so-o so-o-rry..." she cried, and Chuck could see Christine tighten her grip. It was obvious she couldn't stand her best friend's daughter like this.

"You have no reason to be sorry, love. Not at all." She muttered.

"But I-I have… I ki-illed him."

Chuck froze and looked at his sister. She stared right back.

"You haven't killed anyone, Rose."

"I DID KILL HIM! YOU SAID IT YOURSELF!" the door was thrown open and Rose came out. Her face was red and there were tear stains across her cheeks. Crying, she continued. "I killed Charlie…"

She sobbed again and fell on her knees, but Chuck caught her. She hid her face in his shoulder. Her make-up and tears stained his Armani suit jacket. Christine placed her hand on her shoulder and tried to sooth her.

"Baby, you have no and I repeat no part in his death. Blair doesn't know and neither does Harold or Roman, but I do."

"Wha-at do you know?"

"Charlie was suffered from haemophilia, Rose." Christine said softly. Both Chuck and Rose stared at her now.

"Haemo-"

"Philia. Rose, he tripped and had a cut his knees quite badly. It wasn't your fault."

"But- but…" Rose weakly protested. Christine sighed and hugged the girl, who seemed very small.

"Haemophilia means the blood can't clot. The blood keeps flowing until it is run out. Blair was a carrier."

"If that was it, then why were you the only one who knew?" Chuck asked softly. He already had a feeling what the answer was going to be. Christine shared a look with him.

"If his death caused her to become depressed and alcoholic although she had Rose, what do you think would happen if she'd thought it was her fault her son died?"

She shot a 'don't-you-dare-to-tell-Blair' look at him and he returned a small nod to her. With a voice full of relief she smiled at him and placed her hand on Rose's shoulder.

"Shall we go find your mother now?" she offers Rose sweetly. With a small voice, the girl accepts and they rise. Christine shortly explained to Rose where she would be able to find her mother. Rose nodded and left.

"You trust her enough?" Chuck asked softly.

"Of course I do," Christine retorted, slightly offended, "She's Blair's daughter after all."

"I meant do you trust her she won't tell Blair?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. We should hope for the best, I guess. But really, I don't think she will."

Their eyes connected. Both of them didn't know how to feel. Chuck cleared his throat and broke the silent tension.

"How… how did you know about Charlie?" he asked quietly. His voice broke when he used his son's name.

"The medical examiner told me," she whispered, "I wanted to tell B, but then I saw her at the bar and I got that phone call-"

"What phone call?" Chuck interrupted her brutally. She shook her head.

"Nothing to do with Blair or Charlie, if you're worried about that," she muttered, "It was something more personal."

He did not ask any further questions and Christine flinched at his indifference.

"We… we should go," she whispered. "Find Blair and Rose."

He nodded and rushed away, following Rose and leaving a shaking Christine behind. The memory of a forgotten phone call all over her thoughts.

"_Is this Christine Elizabeth Bass?"_

"_Yes. Who's this?"_

"_Are you the mother and wife of Sydney, Hugo and George Marlowe?"_

"_Yes. What's wrong?"_

"_We're very sorry, but-"_

"_No, no, no, no, no. This can't be happening. It must be a prank or something."_

"_I'm so very sorry; miss, your husband and children have been in an accident."_

"_Are… are they okay?"_

"_We don't know, miss. They're stable, but they haven't woken up yet. There is a big chance it will never happen and in the best case it will take a very long while to wake them up. They have no written testimony of approval of euthanasia. You're the one to make the call."_

"_So there is a chance they will wake up?"_

"_Yes, but-"_

"_I don't care. I'll pay for everything. Hell, I'll even buy the hospital."_

"_But miss-"_

"_No. Save them. Wake them up. I don't care how or how much it will cost."_

Even after 9 years, she still didn't have the heart to pull the plug. She and Blair had bought the hospital, and every year on anniversaries and birthdays they'd stop by. Every night she prayed they would wake up.

A group of relatively young girls walked in the bathroom and she woke up from her thoughts. She didn't even realise her phone was vibrating like a maniac.

**A/N so, thank you for reading and stuff, and please share your thoughts. Also, I have about zero knowledge of anything that isn't well… Gossip Girl or psychopaths (I think they're interesting), so I'm sorry for any mistakes I made regarding to technical language… **


	7. Chapter 6

**A/N Yeah, so I forgot the disclaimer. Though we all probably know I don't own anything. Nothing, nothing at all… But I do know someone who worked at the GG set! My best friend's father use to do something like producing or something. I got an offer to meet the cast, but my annoying father and stepmother didn't let me go. I still hold a grudge to them. I HAD THE CHANCE TO MEET ED WESTWICK! ED. WESTWICK. He's my favourite actor of all times. And he's awesome. And I'm so mad I didn't meet him. So mad.**

**Well, I don't own anything, except for Christine, since I made her up and she's based on me (character and actions). **

**Before I start, I just need to be freaked out about the fact that both Michelle Trachtenberg (Georgina) and that dude that played Aaron made a guest appearance on Criminal Minds… this can't be coincidence, right? They must have a goal of casting all the Gossip Girl stars… please let Ed Westwick and Leighton Meester appear together, as an evil, killing, Bonnie and Clyde (I love Bonnie and Clyde) couple… please? I'm literally praying for this to happen… **

"B, are you okay?" Serena asked worried as the three of them returned. Blair nodded and glanced at Serena's four children who were swimming at the pool. She and Rose hade made up, although neither of them was upset with the other.

"We're fine. I'm fine. Everything is perfectly fine." She muttered and Christine looked at her, slightly worried. She was still shivering but not as bad as in the bathroom of the event. Distracted, she pulled off her heels and stumbled bare foot to the mansion.

"Well, your sister looks worse than you, Rose and Blair combined," Nate joked while he looked at Chuck. He didn't react at his friend, but glared at Blair instead. For the first time in his life he was worried. Worried about someone else than himself or Blair.

"What happened?" the brunette asked. She only shrugged and held her daughter's hand even tighter.

"She does that sometimes. Run off without shoes."

Chuck nodded, not fully satisfied with her answer. He turned to Nate and Serena, who were staring at them. Serena quickly looked away, but his best friend did not.

"Well, Rose and I are going back to the mansion now," she stated, looking at Serena, "Make sure you tell Eva to clean the pool after your kids are done."

It surprised them how normal and friendly was to them. The old Blair could never do that. She'd always hold a grudge. They turned their backs to them slowly. Blair's eyes still connected with those of Chuck. Neither of them broke away, it was Rose who practically dragged her mother back to the house, saying French things in a mocking tone.

"She has really changed," Nate said, sounding astonished.

"Well, that's what time and having kids do to you, Nathaniel. Even you should know that." Chuck drawled. He expected Serena to roll her eyes at him, but when he looked at her, she only stared right back.

"Can I get you anything, Serena?" he said. Not reacting, she kept staring at him. Her blue eyes held an emotion he hadn't notice on her ever before.

"Do you still… care about Blair?" she asked softly. Chuck froze. Care about Blair? Of course he did. It was impossible for him not to care for her.

"Chuck?" Serena nudged him in the side. Slowly, he looked up to her. "You okay?"

"Yeah. Sorry. What did you say again?" he muttered. He hadn't forgotten Serena's at all. He just didn't know how to answer. Serena repeated her question.

"Do you or do you not still care for Blair?" she asked, this time sounding slightly threatening.

"Why do you ask?" he answered.

"Because she is my best friend."

"No, Serena. That's where you are wrong. She _was _your best friend. You've been replaced. By _my _sister, if I recall." He retorted coldly and cleared his throat, ignoring Serena's insulted look. "I'm going back. Drink and sleep or something. Don't let you spawn drown. It would be a waste."

He left the Archibald's alone and headed back, still in his tux.

"He's not okay." Nate whispered as he embraced his wife and pulled her into a kiss. Serena shook her head while her lips were still on top of his.

"No," she mumbled and after a second kiss, she continued. "But neither is she."

Behind them, a small voice sounded.

"Mommy? I'm tired. Can you bring me back to my room?"

They turned around and saw Brooke pouting her small lips.

"Sure, sweetie," Nate smiled, releasing Serena and grabbing his daughter's wheelchair. "Let me bring you back while mommy deals with your brother and sisters." He flashed a smile at Serena, but she was already at the pool. While Nate pushed the wheelchair, Brooke happily chatted away.

"And… and then… Katie said-" she squeals in delight.

"Yes, honey, I know. I was there, remember?"

Disappointed, Brooke stopped talking. Instead she looked at her father.

"Daddy? Why is uncle Chuck so absent all the time? I thought he would go shopping with us…"

"I'm sorry, angel. Uncle Chuck has some things to work out."

"With the pretty ladies?"

"Who? Do you mean Blair and Christine?"

She nodded.

"Well, yeah."

"O. Okay, daddy. Well, it's sad he didn't come with us." She sighed. Nate smiled at her. He loved how his daughter could be carefree like her mother. The biggest problem in her world would be her bedtime. Brooke told the same story three times before they reached her room. It was next to Chuck's. Nate said good night to his little girl quickly and rushed to Chuck's room. When he came in, he saw his best friend passed out in the bed, a half-empty bottle of scotch on the nightstand.

**~o~o~o~o~o**

It was way too early in the morning for him to wake up. He glanced at the clock. 6 AM. Even Luna, who would be up first every morning, would be still asleep. Chuck groaned and turned over, now facing the ceiling. He hated mornings like these. After a minute or two, he sat up. Too fast, his head hurt like hell.

"O look, he's up." Someone scoffs on the other side of the room. Chuck looked up and saw Christine sitting at the 'mini' bar in his room. Slowly sipping scotch, she glares at him.

"Isn't it a bit too early for this, sis?" Chuck drawled as he got up. He took a glass of scotch himself and examined his sister further. Her dark hair hung loose over her shoulder, but it looked surprisingly dirty. Her eyes were bloodshot. She looked tired and was wearing a dark purple robe, without shoes. She shrugged.

"If you believe it's too early, then why are you pouring yourself a glass?" she said, raising her left eyebrow. He mirrored her expression and she smirked.

"You look like shit," he stated, and he started to change into new clothes. When he attempted to go into the bathroom, Christine grinned.

"No need to hide for me, brother," she said, and he raised his eyebrows in an amused emotion. She glares at him with a look of approval and when he's done, their eyes connect.

"What are you doing here? Not to check me out, are you?"

She laughed. "Why would I? You are my brother, nonetheless. And I would never do such thing to Blair."

"Well that answers one thing, though it's a very interesting act for a sister, but not my question. What are you doing here, Christine?"

"Why? Can't I bond with my long lost brother?" she smirked at him playfully, but her smile falters when he continues his stern expression. She sighed. "Well, first of all, I wanted some scotch and I reasoned you'd have some. Secondly, I think you need to talk to Blair."

"Why?"

"Because although it's very nice it's all good and friendly, the two of you are not made to be friends. And I don't think you've forgiven her fully."

"Very true, but how do you know that?"

"I observe. I'm quite good at that. I guess it's something you learn when you live in foster homes. You need to know the new family to make them like you."

She said it indifferently, but Chuck could hear the hurt in her voice. He nodded.

"Maybe you're right-"

"Of course I am."

"Shut it. I'll talk to Blair. Where can I find her?"

"She's in her room. It's on the floor above this one. There are three doors; you need to one in the middle."

Chuck nodded and left Christine in his room, alone, once again. Even after he left, she was still staring at the point her brother's face used to be located. Her mind drifting off had nothing to do with Chuck, or Blair, or even something of that moment.

_"Dr. van der Heijden? Why did you call?"_

_"Miss Bass. We have some news…"_

_**~o~o~o~o~o**_

"Blair?"

Chuck slowly walked into the room Christine had described to him. It was round, with turquoise walls and a beautiful Victorian four-poster bed with silk sheets. The room fitted perfectly Blair perfectly.

"Bla-haaair" he repeated, but no one answered. His eyes fell on a small antique wooden cabinet. She had filled the surface with photographs. Nothing but photographs in heavy, silver frames. His heart lifted when he spotted himself in almost every single one of them. There was an old photograph of her appearance on the stage of Victrola, a photo of the four of them on their graduation day, and… one of the two of them, when they were still very little. He reached out to it, but before his fingers could even touch the frame, someone gasped behind him. He turned around and saw Rose glaring at him. She just came out of the shower and her hair was wet. The only thing that covered her petite body was a small, white towel. Still in shock, she pointed at a white robe on her mother's bed. With a smirk, he handed the robe to Rose, who narrowed her eyes at him. He sat down on the bed, careful not to touch anything important. He kept his eyes on the pictures until Rose returned. Her hair was brown and curly instead of blonde like before. He swallowed. The girl looked like an exact, perfect copy of Blair when she was her age. Rose tightened the robe around her body.

"What are you doing here?" she scowled, with her eyes till narrowed. Chuck knew she only acted like that because she felt she needed to intimidate him. Just like her mother… Mockingly, he held his hands up in the air.

"Sorry, Rosalyn," he smirked, which caused her only to get more angry with him. "My bad. I didn't know you were here. According to my lovely sister, _this _is your mother's room. Now I see I could have known she was way too drunk to be serious."

Rose quirked her eyebrow. "This _is_ my mom's room indeed," she mentioned coldly, "And auntie Chris is _not_ a drunky."

"If you say so."

"I do."

Chuck looked at her. In a weird way, he cared for this kid. It wasn't only the fact she was Blair's daughter or that she looked exactly like her, but she was way too familiar to be only that. The longer they stared at each other, the softer Rose's eyes became. At the time Chuck looked away, Rose's expression was sad. Just like his. She climbed on the bed and sat next to him. She crossed her legs and followed his gaze to the pictures.

"So you're the guy." She said softly. He turned around and their eyes connected.

"What? What guy?"

"I mean you're _that _guy."

"That does not make any things any clearer, Rosalyn."

She smirked. "You are the guy her thoughts always drift off to when she's alone. They guy she actually missed, who made her –in her own words-, feel like she was the most perfect, beautiful thing alive."

"How would you know that?"

"Is it not true?"

"I did not say that. There is no situation in which I would say your mother is not perfect."

"Well, in that case… I know because she told me. It might have many years ago, but I still remember." She sighed. "She stopped telling me things when Charlie died."

Chuck glanced back at the cabinet, at the pictures. There were no photos of Rose or Christine or even Harold and Eleanor. Only photos of him and the rest of the Non Judging Breakfast Club. After a silence, Rose continued. She didn't seem awkward at all, but just fitting.

"Do you think my mother is perfect?" she asked. Suddenly, she was a bright, young girl again, curios and romantic. Chuck chuckled. He thought about what to answer. Tell her no, although he already said yes, -just to make it easier for him to leave-, or tell her the truth. Rose looked up to him, with _her _doe brown eyes, eagerly waiting for his answer.

"Your mother _is_ perfection, Rosalyn."

She tilted her head, still waiting for the rest to come, but it didn't.

"So you do you think she is pretty?"

"No."

Her eyes darkened.

"I think she is absolutely stunning."

She giggled and threw her arms around him. Chuck immediately froze. Getting hugged by a 15 year old girl, and a 15 year old _Waldorf_ at that, was even more overwhelming than seeing Blair again after so many years. Hesitantly, he placed his hand over hers. She placed her head on his shoulder and asked him that one question he had been asking himself since he had laid eyes on Blair again.

"Do you still love her?"

**A/N I don't proof read, so if there are any mistakes with past and present tense, I'm really sorry for that! Please review! **

**Oh, and I'm indeed focusing on Christine's past a little bit more. She's quite important for the story, so I thought she deserved a past as well. If you don't like her or something: share your thoughts and I'll see what I can do for you (: **


	8. Chapter 7

**A/N and now I know I have forgotten a few times: I don't own anything from Gossip Girl, except for the characters I made up myself (you know… Rose, Christine, etc.). **

**It's the 26****th**** of January and it's not just any Saturday, no, it's GOSSIP GIRL DAYYY (YAAAY)! And, less importantly, my little sister's birthday! (woooooooh). Although I really have no idea how old she has become (yeah, yeah, I'm a bad big sister, but for the past years I always thought she was 11 years old. And since she is not Benjamin Button, she ****_has_**** to grow older at some point), but I'm obligated to stay at home and listen to her annoying little friend watching annoying movies. But I am watching movies myself as well and since I'm writing at the same time… well, I warn you: there might be some Sherlock Holmes and Alice in Wonderland references. I'm a big sucker for both… Honestly, Alice in Wonderland is my second favourite book ever (The Nightcircus is first) (I ****_adore_**** the Nightcircus) (I would ****_kill_**** step step even one foot in the cirque de Rêves) (my ****_bedroom_**** is inspired by the circus) (okay, I'll shut up about it now). Sorry. I just wanted to share that. Anyway, enjoy the chapter and ****_please_**** review. I can see you invisible readers! You're not invisible to meeee (she said in a creepy, singing voice)… **

**Okay, I won't shut up, but you can skip the me-chatting-about-random-stuff part, this is not important in any way. I just like to add these things. Fill time and space and stuff. So. I'm soooooo adding Sherlock Holmes and Watson to my holy trinity of couple (I'm going to replace Saruman and Gandalf with these two) (yes, I actually like Lord Of The Rings. I'm a big fan) who are my ****_big_**** examples in life (so now that would be Chuck & Blair, Perry & Jordan and of course Holmes & Watson). Anyway, I'm watching this thing right now and I'm wondering if someone ever took time to write a lovely Chair-mafia story. You know what? I'm totally going to write one! Or… or… an Alice in Wonderland - Gossip Girl crossover! OR AN SHERLOCK HOLMES – GOSSIP GIRL CROSSOVER! Crossovers are sooo much fuuuun! After I'm done with this story, I'm only going to write crossovers. Much more fun. **

**So. Now I'm done… and this time there won't be a note at the end. Not really important for you, of course, but for me it is. Promise to myself. Otherwise, I might just stay and chat the entire time and the chapters will be really, really short… **

"Do you still love her?"

When he didn't answer her question, Rose frowned and sat back, glaring at him. He didn't look back at her. Instead, he just kept looking to the wall. Did he still love her? Did he _still_ love Blair Cornelia Waldorf? A month ago, he would have said yes. 'Yes', because it was the truth. 'Yes', because if he told the truth back then, he would be the only one hurt. But now… if he said yes now, he would take not only Blair, but also Rose and Christine into his fall when he would leave. There would be no reason for any of them to return to New York. If he said yes, he could not leave. Not only because of Blair, but also because of Rose and himself. He would not let _himself_ leave. He would not let himself go back to New York, to the misery of not being with Blair. He cleared his throat.

"I don't know." He muttered. Silently, he scolded himself. The answer had been weak. It was an avoidance of the question. Not like him at all. Unsatisfied, Rose frowned and slid of the bed.

"How can you not know?" she asked, upset. "You just said you think my mother is perfect and stunning."

"She is, but-"

"Then why don't you know if you love her?"

"I know the answer to your question, Rosalyn, but I can't give it to you." He ran his hands through his perfectly slicked back hair.

"Why not?"

Chuck opened his mouth, but got no chance to explain. A voice interrupted him.

"Insecurities."

Both Rose and Chuck looked up and standing in the doorway. She looked tired, but still stunning. She smiled at her daughter.

"Hi sweetheart."

"Hey mom… I swear, I was only using your bathroom." Rose said with panic in her voice.

"It doesn't matter at all, honey. I was just walking the dogs. You're allowed to use the shower."

"I… I was… I was looking for you." Chuck stuttered. He never stuttered and he could see Blair had noticed too. She straightened invisible folds in her Diane von Furstenberg skirt and kissed her daughter on the cheek. The only reaction to his awkward stutter was a small nod and when Rose left, a silence fell.

"What are you doing here, Chuck?" Blair said. She did not sound cold or indifferent at all. She sounded sad and tired. Chuck adjusted his tie and looked up to her.

"I just told you, Blair, for you. I wanted to talk." He drawled and Blair quirked her eyebrow while moving towards the bed.

"I thought Chuck Bass didn't _do_ talking?"

"For you… always."

She grinned, thinking back to the good old days they were still together and they could count on each other like someone could count on a fire to be hot. The same memory came to their minds, the first time the two of them had ever worked together to bring someone down. They were about 8 years old and they were on Serena's birthday party. She had invited every girl in the Upper East Side of their age, including Bree Buckley, a girl Blair detested.

_"I don't understand you had to invite her." A tiny, annoyed Blair muttered. She had her arms crossed and her eyebrows frowned. Nate sat next to her, and ran his hand up and down her back. Chuck could see he was doing his entirely wrong, but didn't step in. Blair was Nate's girl. Not his. No matter how much he wanted her to be. Serena had rolled her eyes and had fallen on her knees besides Chuck, nudging his in his side so he would move. The ended up very close to Blair, who didn't even notice him at all. _

_"But it is Bree. Bree Buckley. You invited a Buckley, S." she said with disgust. Nate stopped with trying to comfort her and looked at Serena. Even then, he looked at the blonde in a different way. He looked at her in awe, at Blair in… nothing. Just plain nothing. Every time Chuck saw that, his insides were shaking. He truly hated his best friend for that. Blair was 10 times better than Serena and he had to see that. _

_"She's right, Serena. That Buckley girl is a bitch," Chuck offered, glancing at Blair. She looked back in shock, but didn't say a word about what he just said. She was battling inside if she should be grateful for his help or scold him for saying a bad word. She decided she liked him as her ally better. _

_"O come on guys, she isn't that bad," Serena said, being her bubbly self as always. _

_"She is." Both Chuck and Blair said in union, and the other half of their Non Judging Breakfast Club looked at them. They had noticed before how much the two were alike. Both were devious and evil and even their appearance matched perfectly. Even now, they looked coordinated, both in purple colours. _

_"Not at all," Nate said, taking Serena's side as usual. _

_"Nataniel, she bullied you in kindergarten" Chuck mentioned, and Blair snickered. _

_"So? She never did anything to you but you hate her and I don't." _

_"That would mean you're afraid of a little girl, Nate," Blair grinned. Serena frowned and looked at Nate._

_"Is that true, Natie?"_

_"But… she is scary…" he stuttered, and both Chuck and Blair started to laugh. Nate blushed crimson and he ran away. Serena looked from the point where Nate was last seen to Chuck and Blair, who were still giggling. _

_"You are so mean to him! Especially you, Blair, you should know better."_

_Blair opened her mouth to respond, but Chuck did for her. "She can't help it she's absolutely right, Serena. Nate is a pussy; you shouldn't blame Blair for telling it as it is." _

_Serena sent him a deadly look and ran away, following Nate to the adults, leaving Blair and Chuck behind. Shyly, Blair looked at her friend._

_"Thank you for sticking up for me," she said. Chuck smirked at her._

_"For you, Waldorf, always." _

"Bass? Chuck? You there?" Blair nudged him in the side and started laughing when he woke up from his thoughts.

"Why are you laughing?" he drawled, narrowing his eyes in suspicion.

"Nothing, Chuck, nothing. What did you wanted to talk about?" she answered, and the room fell silent again when she had asked the question. Chuck cleared his throat and ran his hands through his hair. He had no idea what he wanted to talk about. Christine had told him to speak with her about _them_, but he needed something else from her. Softly, he asked what he wanted to ask her for a long time.

"What… what was he like?"

Blair froze. She had expected this question, but not so soon. She inhaled slowly, trying to control her shaking hands.

"He was… perfect. In my eyes, he was. No chance of doubt. Christine adored him and so did Rose, although she may not remember. She doesn't seem to remember a lot from him at all."

"That's not enough, Blair. I want to know everything about my son." If he didn't know what Charlie's death had done to her, he would have been angry with her, very angry. He would have threatened to ruin her life. But now… now he couldn't do that to her at all. Even the slightest mistake from him would cause her to flee and he wanted to be as careful as possible. She nodded.

"He… loved purple. And giraffes. Christine gave him this purple stuffed giraffe. He absolutely adored it. It never left his side. I still have it somewhere…" she stood up and started browsing to stuff in the cabinet. After a few seconds, she pulled out the giraffe she had just described. She gave it to him and with an unfamiliar knot in his throat; he turned it around in his hands. Almost with tears in her eyes, she continued telling him about her son. _Their_ son.

"He was really smart. He could walk and talk when he was very young, but he had this stutter. Christine thought it was sweet, and said it would go away when he went to preschool. We thought him both French and English, and he could speak both exceptionally well-"

"Blair… what did he look like?" he asked. His boy was only three years old and he could do all these things, but… he just wanted to see if he had taken after him. Blair glanced at him, but didn't move towards the cabinet. Instead, she pulled out a photo from under her pillow. It was a picture of a small boy, completely dressed in a mini-suit, with a purple bow tie. His hair was dark like his, and he had the same eyes. When he looked closer, he could see it was an exact copy of him when he was three. Unwanted, his eyes filled up with tears and he had to wipe his cheeks a few time. He felt Blair hand hesitantly on his arms.

"I know you name your firstborn child after the parents, but… he just… looked so much like you. He was you, right to the smallest details." She whispered, and he looked to her. She fell lost in his gaze and both of them smiled weakly at each other.

"At least you still have Rose. She looks exactly like you." he whispered back, to break the silence. Blair shook her head.

"Rose hates looking like me. Did you see what she did to her hair? It was all beautiful curls and chocolate colour like mine, but she coloured and straightened it… Although she says she doesn't hold it against me I left New York and never told her who her father was, she does…"

"Blair…" Chuck started, and he tried to catch her eyes, but she avoiding his gaze. "Blair… who is Rosalyn's father?"

"I… I don't know…"


	9. Chapter 8

**A/N I thought I would reveal Rose's daddy in the last chapter, but at the last minute, I decided not to. However, I have ****_promised _****a lot of people I would, so that's why I'm giving you two chapters at once. I hate to break my promises to such good readers and other people I like, so here it is: the revelation of Rosalyn Waldorf's father. It's in the chapter. I promise, no, I swear. I swear on my life this chapter WILL contain the ultimate revelation (yeah, listening to Secret from The Pierces (I love that band) right now, so…). **

**And sorry for the long note at the beginning of the last chapter. I had waaaaaay to much sugar at that point (my sister's little friends brought CHOCOLATE ICECREAM WITH CHOCOLATE SAUCE AND ALL KINDS OF BAD, BAD CHOCOLATE THINGS I ATE) and that made me really happy and a bit too chatty. I promise not to do it again. Only relevant things from now on. Starting… now! **

**Anyway, enjoy the two-at-once chapters! I'm never going to do that again, because it was a lot of stress for one day and I need to look good at my appearance on tv next Tuesday (yes, people, I'll be on TV! They need me to get up 2 hours earlier than usual, but there will be camera's and stuff and this is a good way for me to get used to all the filming for when I'm married to Ed Westwick, haha) **

"What do you mean, you don't know?" Chuck said. He didn't mean to sound upset and judging, but he did. He did sound like that, and he could see Blair flinch at his tone.

"I was very young when I gave birth to Rose… and… I was lying that time I told you I wasn't pregnant."

"What time, Blair?"

"The same day you ruined my life on Constance." Her tone wasn't mean or accusing at all. Her face was blank. Chuck turned his head towards her and stared at her -in his eyes- perfect face. A tear made its path across her cheek. She was still crying about their previous conversation. Hesitantly, he wiped it away with his thumb. The second he touched her skin, she turned her head to look at him and their eyes connected. Both of them could feel the almost electric thrill that passed between them. In a second both of them leaned forward to each other, until only a breath separated them. It took everything from him not to lean in any further, and it seemed, it took everything from her too. Blair bit her lower lip, but didn't look away.

"You… and Nate can be Rosie's father," she said, and with that, the spell was broken. Chuck's eyes darkened when it got through to him what she just said. He pulled away and made his way towards the door, glancing back when he opened it. Blair was still in the same position and she looked… lost. Tears spilled and fell on the ground, and he almost couldn't hear what she said.

"I wanted it to be you," she whispered, not looking at him, but at her folded hands, "I mean, I still do." She looked up. "I always wanted it to be you."

He shivered and closed the already opened door again, but not moving towards the broken woman. "Why?"

"Because…" she swallowed in anxiety, "I love you."

Chuck felt his heart lift and with three big steps, he was face to face with Blair. In a flash of pure passion, he took her face and kissed her lips hungrily. It was Blair who deepened the kiss and ran her hands through his hair. In one movement, Chuck practically ripped open his shirt and threw himself and Blair on the bed. He kissed the crook of her neck, her shoulders, breasts, stomach and every time a little lower until he reached her centre. Blair groaned and drove her perfectly manicured nails deep into his flesh.

**~o~o~o~o~o**

They were lying intertwined on Blair's bed. Both of them had no idea what the time was, but neither of them actually cared. Their clothes were sprawled across the room and they were exhausted. Blair sighed. She had missed this. She had missed the hot sex, the passion-filled kisses, and most of all, every part of him… Her head was placed on his chest and he could feel he was slowly waking up. With one finger, she nudged him in his side.

"Mmm?" he murmured, and Blair smiled.

"Has someone decided to finally wake up?" she asked, before turning her head towards him and softly kissed him on the lips. He smiled and kissed the top of her head.

"How about a round two?" he muttered, and Blair playfully smacked him on his bare chest. She sat up; making sure her body was entirely covered by the sheets.

"More like a round four…" she giggled, and Chuck brought her down by a single slap on the inside of her knees. She fell and he kissed her, passionate, hungrily. Before he could bring her into more, Blair climbed off the bed and made her way towards the bathroom.

"Why not?" Chuck muttered, willingly following her.

"Because we have been gone for way too long…" she retorted in a-matter-of-factly tone. He wrapped his arms around her and grinned. He had missed her so much. Her hair, her skin, her mouth, everything. He placed his head in the crook of her neck, just like Rose had done with him not a long time before.

"Blair…" he drawled. She turned around to face him and hooked her arms around his neck.

"Yes, Chuck?"

"I love you."

She smiled and he smiled back. She pressed her body closer to his and he started to make a trail of kisses down her body.

"No, no, no… Chuck, stop it." She managed to say. He stopped and looked up to her. With his eyebrows raised, he pressed his forehead against hers.

"Why? I missed you…" Chuck whispered in a seductive voice, knowing that Blair would fall for this. Instead of what he had predicted, she pushed him away and stepped out of the shower, patting herself dry with a white, fluffy towel. He followed her quickly and mirrored her actions. In ten minutes, both of them were dressed and Blair's make-up was done with her steady and professional hand.

"Blair…" Chuck said as they made their way downstairs, and Blair turned around elegantly as ever when he used his voice. Waiting for him to finish his sentence, she cocked her head. "You should do a paternity test."

She bowed her head and nodded silently.

"Yeah… we should."

**~o~o~o~o~o**

How long is that going to take anyway?" Christine asked. She, Blair and Chuck were settled at one of the living rooms on the east side of the mansion. Blair was propped up very close to Chuck and he held her hand tightly. Christine had smiled when she saw them at first, but frowned when Blair mentioned the paternity test. Blair shrugged and moved into Chuck's lap.

"I thought you had done one before." Christine said, with raised eyebrows. She looked better than she had that morning, not only because she had changed clothing. Blair shook her head and avoided Chuck's eyes.

"I didn't want to… in case…" she started, and Chuck finished for her.

"Nathaniel would be the father."

She nodded, and Christine stood up. With a warm smile she walked away. Chuck glanced at the door and then at Blair, who looked back in the same confused, asking way. Within a few minutes Christine managed to return, this time with a big box in her hands. Blair raised her eyebrows when she was followed by Serena and Rose. Christine shrugged and put the box down, practically smacking it on the table.

"_You_ should be grateful I did this." She muttered, and Blair leaned forward, ignoring the stares of Serena and Rose.

"What did you do, exactly?" Chuck drawled slowly. His sister's cheeks flushed crimson and she shot an apologizing look to him and Serena.

"I may or may not have done a paternity test before… depends on how much you want the answer."

The mouth of everyone except for Christine's fell open. Rose eyes slowly moved to the box, and she was followed by both Serena and Chuck. Blair kept glaring at Christine, who started browsing through the objects in the box to avoid her stares. Rose moved towards her mother and grabbed her hand.

"You don't have to be here, sweetheart. If you want, we can tell you later or something?" Blair whispered, but the girl just shook her head and embraced her mother tightly. Serena watched with sentiment when Blair pressed a kiss on her daughter's hair and Chuck grabbed her hand.

"So I take it everything is fine between you?" Serena asked, looking at her husband's best friend, who nodded.

"And I hope it stays that way…" he muttered and held his lost love's hand even tighter. Serena opened her mouth to make a statement about how true love always found the way back to each other, but was cut short by Christine, who held up a white envelope with triumph in her eyes.

"And here it is…" she grinned, and her brown eyes seemed to sparkle. "The paternity test I had done days ago… I'm sorry for taking your DNA, though."

Blair rolled her eyes, and pulled out to the envelope, but Christine held it high up above her head. With one eyebrow perfectly raised, she held the test out of her best friends reach.

"B, before you open this thing and it might change or ruin your life forever… think about what you're going to do." She stated, standing up and walking over to the other side of the room. She still had the test in her hands. Blair, Chuck and Rose shot her a Christine-please-stop-behaving-like-a-child look and in response, she rolled her eyes.

"She's right, Blair," Serena brought in. "Now that you and Chuck are happy together, you should remember what could happen if he's not…"

"My father." Rose finished her sentence. She seemed to be the only one not affected at all. She looked at her aunt, who nodded.

"Exactly. I understand that you want to know, Blair, but it would be better if it was Chuck's call. He's the one who is supposed to live with the fact he is not the father of your daughter if it turns out to be Nate." Christine mentioned, and she focused on her brother as she walked back. She held the test in front of him, daring him to take it. Slowly, he shook his head.

"If it's okay with all of you," he drawled, looking away from the envelope, "I'd rather not know. I can love both of you with everything I can offer you and even more, but if Nathaniel is her father… I couldn't live with that." Chuck glanced at Blair, who seemed conflicted with herself. She bit her bottom lip, but then turned to him and kissed his cheek.

"It's okay. You're right." She whispered. With a single look at her niece, Christine tore apart the envelope in small pieces. With certain elegance, she threw away the paper in the dustbin. Chuck kissed his love and they walked away, followed by Serena.

"I'm sorry." Christine muttered softly when she was alone with Rose. The girl was still staring at the bin. With those words, she woke up from her thoughts.

"Why?" Rose's eyes were blank, and Christine turned away, partly in shame, partly in sadness.

"You have right to know too."

"It doesn't matter."

Christine nodded and left the room. Rose waited a few minutes, but when she was sure she was alone, she rushed towards the bin. With uncontrollable tears streaming down her face and onto her clothes, she fell on her knees on the carpet. Carefully, she picked out the pieces and puzzled them together, until the result from the test became clear. Rose held her breath as she scanned the names.

_Child: Rosalyn Charlotte Waldorf_

_Mother: Blair Cornelia Waldorf_

_Father- _

She looked away, not sure if she wanted to know herself, but every time she tried to stand up, her eyes were drawn back to the test. Her mother was back with the man she loved, her aunt finally had her brother, and the only other possibility was happily married with four children. If he… if _he_ wasn't her father, how could she ever have peace with Chuck at all? She sucked in her breath one last time, and her eye caught the result. The second she recognized the letters, her heart started to beat faster, and she sighed with relief.

_Father: Charles Bartholomew Bass _

**A/N This certainly was ****_not _****my best chapter ever… But I think we already established I'm certainly not the best writer on this site. Actually, I'd say I'm far from that. But that doesn't keep me from writing and updating (:**

**I have this small (small) note about the last chapter… I loved writing the memory of Chuck and Blair as little children and I'm going to write such memories a lot more often. **

**Also, and this is about this chapter, I'm sorry for blacking out and stuff on the sex scene. I actually used to be quite good at writing passion-filled scenes, but a week or something ago, my father had this really awkward conversation with me (a lot of things I ****_do not _****want to know about my father's personal life) and now I'm scarred for life. Okay, that's exaggerated. I might be scarred for the next two months, but I didn't want you to wait that long, so I tried my best. I'm sorry if I failed. Blame my dad. **


	10. Chapter 9

**A/N So... I do not own a thing, except for my own characters, of course. I would love to own something from Gossip Girl, especially the Jennifer Behr headband Blair wore in the series finale (the wedding-one. Silver with the Swarovski-crystals… **_**sooooo pretty) **_**or of course about every pair of shoes, bags, clothing and jewellery. Did I ever tell you one of my best friends actually owns **_**the**_** Erickson Beamon necklace? Or at least, she wore it and paid a whole lot of money for the piece… But then again, her father worked at the set and she actually MET THE CAAAAAAAAAAAST D: **

_**But **_**I wasn't supposed to drift off like that. I just wanted to say: enjoy the new chapter and I hope you'll keep reading. **

"Oh, come on, B, it'll be _so_ much fun!" a very happy, very bubbly Serena said holding Blair hands. It had been three weeks since their first day at the mansion and Serena and Nate were packing their things. Their children were already done, and Luna almost cried when Chuck stated he was staying with Blair and Rose. Both Rose and Christine had gotten very, very close to him and neither had seen Blair happier than she was now in years. Luna was actually the one who had come with the idea Blair, Rose and Christine should come with them back to New York. Serena had liked it the second, and so did Nate and Rose. It had taken a century to convince Chuck, but when he accepted the cons of the returning to the City, so did Christine. Blair was the only one who kept refusing.

"For you, maybe, but I don't think it's safe for me to go back." She said, while shaking her head. Her curls flew around her head when she made the movements. Chuck had his arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her closer towards him.

"Blair," he drawled with his husky voice, "It has been fourteen years. Whoever did this to you has left New York."

"How do you know?" she retorted, frowning at him.

"Because… now we know and we can protect you _if _he or she is still there. And we won't leave. Ever." He said, and he kissed her softly. She didn't respond at him, but looked at Christine.

"Bart's dead, I have no reason to stay away from New York. But _you_… I read something about a Madlynn Sarr a couple of years ago, she was a stalker who was obsessed with this guy for years and started to threaten his girlfriend when she got pregnant of him. She stopped after 26 years, the day she died. Ironically, she was hit by the guy's car. Driven by the girlfriend." _S_he practically smirked at them. Chuck threw a Christine-please-shut-your-damn-mouth-look at her and she shrugged indifferently.

"You're not helping at all, sis," he muttered, and Blair looked worried at her best friend.

"I get there are no boundaries left, but that doesn't mean you should go at all…" she mentioned, and Christine shrugged.

"I admit, there is another reason for me to leave this lovely city, but now… there is one for you too." She smiled brightly and placed her hands on Blair shoulders. "I hate to say this, I really do, but Chuck is right. The man has a point."

Blair frowned and when she saw, Christine smiled only brighter. Gracefully, she turned around and clapped in her hands, causing a very red Eva to arrive with four enormous suitcases.

"You had my bags packed for me?" Blair asked, her mouth open in disbelief. Christine shook her head.

"No, Chuck had. But he was a good little brother and gave me the honour of _the clap_." She smirked at Chuck, who mirrored her expression.

"Well… I guess that means I am going back to New York." Blair muttered, and followed her love into the limousine.

**~o~o~o~o~o**

Christine smiled at her best friend and brother, who looked perfectly happy with each other. They were lying against each other in the limo, hands clutched together and heads on the other one's shoulder. They looked sweet. It was weird how the two of them fitted exactly together, as two perfect puzzle pieces. Smiling, she ran her hand through her hair and thought back to her own marriage. Her marriage that might be saved soon enough.

"_Miss Bass, we're happy to tell you your husband and children have woken up from coma."_

"_What? Really? That is amazing! When can I see them?"_

"_I'm sorry-"_

"_No. what happened this time?"_

"_There are some problems…"_

A tear fell of her cheek. Hugo and Sydney, her 9 and 11 years old children, hadn't survived the coma. Her husband had, but… The doctor said temporarily amnesia. Another memory struck her.

"_Mr. Moore? There is a visitor for you?" the nurse had smiled. Christine had thrown a hateful look at her, but when she turned around, her frown 'magically' turned into her charming smile again. The nurse had nodded and let her in, and for a few seconds she just stood there watching him. He had cocked his head and frowned, showing no sign of recognition. The doctor had sad before he might not recognize her the immediate second she came in and there was a chance he wouldn't recognize her at all._

"_I'm sorry, but who are you?" _

_Her smile had dropped the second his words left his lips. She had grabbed his hand and held it tightly. _

"_Georgie… it's me… Don't you remember me at all?"_

_He had shaken his head._

"_Christine. My name is Christine. I am your wife."_

_Nothing. She had sounded desperate and tears had run down her face. She had showed him a photograph of their wedding day, over ten years ago. She was wearing a light blue gown and he a perfectly fitted tux. George had asked her why she was wearing blue. She had answered him with his own words. 'Because white wasn't perfect enough'. When she had told him that, she swore she saw a flinch of recognition in his eyes. Enthusiastic, she had continued. _

"_Shall I tell you more?" she had offered, and he had nodded hesitantly._

"_If you'd like..?"_

_She hadn't even answered._

"_We married in Paris. You're going to New York in a few days. Your doctor said it would be a good idea to transfer you. We had been dating before your proposal for three years. We married quite young, but I was head over heels for you and so were you for me. Or at least, you told me that every single day. You let me and Blair take care of the wedding and its details-"_

"_Who is Blair?"_

"_Blair Waldorf was my, and I guess yours too, best friend. We were the godparents of her daughter Rose. She dated my brother, actually. You know, scratch that, she still loves him." Softly smiling she had shaken her head._

"_You have a brother?"_

"_Yes. His name is Charles, but everyone calls him Chuck. Blair and I named her second after him. Charlie looked so much like his father."_

"_So you… me… and this Blair have four children?"_

"_No. we have – I mean, had- two, Hugo and Sydney. They didn't survive the car crash. Blair has Rose and Charlie, but… Charlie died a few days before your accident."_

"_I'm sorry. What were they like?"_

"_Rose is…-"_

"_No. I mean your children."_

"_Our children, Georgie. You adored Sydney. She was your little princess. Hugo was closer to me. He always knew how to make you do things, though. He would held Sydney against you and make you feel bad and… and whenever I told you not to do that, you just told answered I did the exact same with Syd."_

_She had watched him closely, see how he would react. Except for a little flash of pain, nothing. She turned away but continued. It had been more than hard for her to tell anyone -and especially him- about Hugo and Sydney. He was their father. He should know everything about them. _

"_Sydney liked Harry Potter. No, not just like, she loved it. It were her favourite books. On her 11__th__ birthday, we faked a Hogwarts letter saying they loved to have her, but you wouldn't let her go. She was devastated, but still ecstatic. She always believed you were the George from the story because of your red hair and big family. In her opinion I was Harry's long lost sister because of the similarities described in the book. She would have loved Chuck so much, if you think about it. Although he doesn't really look like a Harry Potter type."_

_She was drifting off and couldn't help but notice his fascinated gaze. Not looking at her own husband who didn't seem to remember anything, she had continued her story about her –no, their- eldest story. _

"_She loved Alice In Wonderland as well, especially the Mad Hatter and the Cheshire Cat. She begged us to get one, but although I loved that cat too, we decided not to because I'm allergic to cats. She was so intelligent. She loved reading and learning new things. She was surprisingly good at meeting new people and making them like her. She was beautiful. We adopted her… both her and Hugo because I saw this documentary once about pregnancy and I was freaked out. You were on my side the entire time…"_

"_And what about Hugo?"_

"_Hugo was deadly smart, but so enthusiastic about life. He loved the zoo and everything that had to do with animals. He brought so many squirrels, ducks and pigeons home, and every time, in one way or another, he found a way to make them better. He was weirdly good at chess and beat you every time. I admit, in the beginning you let him win, but you told me it became harder as he became better. His favourite colour was blue, just like his eyes. He loved reading more than anything. His favourites were Hemingway and Fitzgerald, and the first book her ever read was Jane Eyre. I asked him what he wanted me to read to him and he picked out Jane Eyre. A two year old boy, choosing Jane Eyre for goodness sake. He adored the twenties and thirties, but I think that was because of my influence. He wanted to help people…"_

"_Is that everything?"_

"_It has been many years for me too, Georgie. I accepted I couldn't be happy if I kept hanging on to what I lost. It was wrong… but-"_

"_Tell me more about me." George had demanded as Christine started to cry. She had nodded and told him everything she could remember of him, which were mostly details._

"_You have a big family. I never really met them and they never came to the wedding. I do know you used to have a strong bond with both your parents and you had a brother, Fred. Sydney loved that. It only made her believe we were all wizards stronger. You went to Princeton where you studied Philosophy, and you were a teacher at a successful, large school in Paris. You loved your job, no, adored it. You came back every time from work and tell me about what you were focusing on in class. I was always more into psychology and criminal psychology at that, but you always knew how to interest me in everything about your subject." _

_Just like that she had told him everything she knew about him and she had left when he fell asleep. But still… he didn't seem to remember at all. _

Another tear fell across her cheek and Christine sobbed. She had missed him so much, and now he didn't remember her at all. Across of where she sat, Blair moved and her eyelids fluttered open. When the brunette saw her best friend crying, she moved over and embraced her tightly. They both knew Blair was too tired to comfort the woman, or stay awake at that, but Christine could use all the support offered.

**A/N I'm sorry this is a filler chapter… I didn't mean it to be one, but I had too much fun creating a past for Hugo, Sydney and George. Also, I didn't want to let Hugo and Sydney die, but I had to because a 9 and 11 year old in a car crash wouldn't have survived anyway… O and for all the Harry Potter? I'm a big fan… **

**The psychopath Madlynn Sarr doesn't exist at all, I just had to make up an example for the story. Does anyone else here feel that it is astonishing Chuck was able to talk at normal speed in season one? Don't get me wrong, I love it how he can drag out three words over an entire minute, it's very sexy… talking about how sexy that man can pronounce things, does anyone remember season 3 episode 9? And then the way he says Tour de France? I loved that so much I replayed that about twenty times and stalked every single one of my friends by repeating it over and over and over again. **


	11. Chapter 10

**A/N I am having too much fun while writing the Christine-pieces. I worked hard on her past and such, so… I know you get it, you are smart people (:**

**I don't own a thing from Gossip Girl, although I'd love to… bring me **_**all**_** the headbands, **_**all**_** the bowties and Ed Westwick. Seriously, I would kill to spend time with that man. I'm going to make him say 'I'm Chuck Bass' and 'Tour de France' the entire time, probably, but still. He's so handsome and sexy and dear lord perfect… no. NO Emma, you're supposed to be good. No drowning in your own obsession this time. Okay… goodbye… thank you for reading and such (:**

"Oh, New York... I might have actually missed the city." Blair muttered as they crossed the bust streets of New York, heading to Serena and Nate's place. Serena grinned and took the brunette's arm.

"So many things have changed, B! Did you know that Dan-"

"With New York I meant Manhattan, not goblin land across the bridge." Blair cut off her blonde and bubbly friend. Chuck smirked. Even though she hadn't been home for 14 long years, and she had been through life-changing experiences, she still detested the lower classes. His eyes connected with those of his sister, who shrugged her shoulders and picked up her conversation with Luna. Heated, the two of them debated whether people were necessarily good or bad. Strange enough, Christine was saying bad and Luna good. Over the trip home, he and Christine had discussed where they were staying, the Palace or the Empire. Chuck still lived at the penthouse of his hotel and Serena and Nate moved into Lily's old apartment years ago, after she had moved in at Rufus' loft. Christine didn't want to stay with either of them, although she didn't elaborate on that. After a full comparison of the two hotels, obviously praising The Empire, Christine had come up with the idea of Blair's old place. It was still hers; Eleanor had kept it in case Blair ever returned. Both Rose and Christine thought it was absolutely perfect and after an argument or two, he'd agreed. Blair didn't seem to care about where they were staying at all. Both Christine and Chuck had never seem her this happy.

"_Why_ are you living in your _mother's _apartment, Serena?" Blair scolded when Vanya had opened the door. The man had recognized all of them, including Blair, Rose and Christine. With a smile that would fit a society-lady-slash-trophy-wife perfectly, Blair thanked him and asked how Dorota and their children were doing. Enthusiastically, Vanya told them all about their Anastasia. Rose, as the well-taught girl she was, smiled politely and asked for photographs. What seemed to be ages later, Vanya shut his mouth.

"Why did you _do _that?" Christine hissed at her best friend and her daughter. Rose smiled turned into a grimace when she heard her aunt's tone. The elevator was too small for the ten of them, and they were closely pressed together to give the children more space. A very disturbed Brooke pouted when Luna pushed her to the side. Before their children could start a fight, Nate and Serena pulled them apart.

"I miss having kids…" Christine whispered. No one was supposed to hear, after all, they didn't know, but Chuck did. He turned around and frowned at his sister.

"You have children?"

Blair froze. She knew what happened to Christine's family, but they never spoke about it. Just like Charlie, the topic was taboo. The elevator felt silent, and Rose grabbed her aunts hand, and held it tightly. Christine nodded at her brother, but then seemed to change her mind.

"I… I had a son and a daughter. Hugo and Sydney."

"What happened to them?"

"They didn't survive the coma."

Blair gasped, and Rose started sobbing. None of the others grasped what was going on.

"What… coma?"

"The coma they all fell into after the car crash." She answered blankly. She shouldn't think about them right now. Not about them, not about him. She was here with her brother, with her best friend, with her niece. She was in a city she had loved since she was little and a city she wasn't able to visit for years. The elevator doors opened and Christine was the first to get out, rushing to the kitchen, although it was the first time she ever stepped a foot in the apartment. Blair followed her, after throwing a 'why did you have to be such a Basshole, Basshole?'-look at Chuck. Rose stayed behind and glanced at the others uncomfortably. Brooke, Luna and Kate had run to their room, avoiding the adults.

"What exactly happened to Christine, Rose?" Serena asked. She had started to like the woman, and she felt bad her children died. Nervously, Rose bit her bottom lip. When neither her mom nor aunt returned from the kitchen, she decided it would be best for everyone if she'd just tell them.

"A few days after Charlie had died; she got a phone call from the hospital. Her husband, uncle George, and their two adopted children, Hugo and Sydney, had an accident. She was devastated. She started drinking at the same time as my mother…"

**~o~o~o~o**

"Why didn't you tell me? C, I'm supposed to be your friend." Blair whispered as she sat down next to her best friend. Christine shook her head.

"I know, B. I really do, but for the first time in years you seem to be happy. Why would I ruin that?"

"I'm always happy."

"No, I mean happy-happy."

"It's the same-"

"Not at all. A long time ago, we made a deal."

"I don't-"

"I know, you were wasted."

Blair didn't answer, and Christine put down her glass. "Yeah… let's go back."

They returned to the elevator, only to see Chuck and Rose waiting for them. Chuck placed his hand on his sister's arm.

"You okay?" he asked softly. His voice dripped with worry and pity. Almost disgusted of her brother, Christine slapped his hand away and raised an eyebrow.

"Of course. Why wouldn't I be?" and with that, she stepped in the elevator and left them standing there.

"She doesn't like pity," Blair explained as she laced her fingers with his. He nodded and kissed her cheek.

"Serena and Nate are having some 'family time'. Where do you want to go?"

Blair smiled and glanced at her daughter. She had been surprised when Rose accepted Chuck so easily. Normally, she would have problems with any man in Blair's or Christine's life. At first, Rose completely detested François. It took him years to get her to like him.

"Take us home, please."

Chuck smiled at her. In years, he had never felt like this. He had always been alone, with a different girl in his bed every night. People still knew him as the womanizer he had been when he was younger, before Blair. But there was no time _before _Blair. She has always been there and she always would be. No one –_no one_- can top Blair Waldorf.

In silence, Rose watched her mother and Chuck –her _father_. It was almost weird how good they all fitted together. Nudging Chuck in his side, she managed to get them apart. Giggling like a young girl, her mother let go of Chuck and stepped into the now-empty elevator. With the three of them, she finally felt her family was complete.

**~o~o~o~o**

"Nate, what's wrong?" Serena rolled over in their bed. She knew her husband was still awake, even though it was almost three AM. Nate shook his head in the dark and Serena grabbed his hand. Nate smiled and kissed the top of her head.

"Nothing, sweetie."

Unsatisfied, Serena frowned. "I know you, Natie. Something _is_ wrong."

He sighed. "Fine I was just thinking about Nate."

Serena sat up, startled. "Blair? Why?"

Nate tried to sooth her. "Not like that. I mean she and Chuck and Rose seem to be so happy. Have you ever seen any of them this happy?"

His wife shook his head.

"Exactly." Nate continued, "But I can't help but wonder…"

"If you are her father?"

"Yeah. I don't want to break them up, but it has been on my mind on a while."

"Let it go, Nate. Let your best friend be happy," Serena muttered and she turned around, with her back to Nate.

**~o~o~o~o**

Blair had no idea what she was doing. She was happy, she really was. She had Chuck back and he accepted rose. Even better, Rose accepted _him_. Her life was almost perfect. She had always dreamt of a fairy tale and although this was far from that, she couldn't feel any better. She sat on the bed of her old room, her hands clutching a small, white envelope. When Chuck had found it, she only had smiled, told him it was nothing and had sent him away. She sighed. It wasn't nothing. Chuck had left an hour ago, after Arthur had brought back a very drunk Christine. Although she had been drinking, she was still fine. She hadn't even noticed the envelope. Desperately, Blair tried to control her breath. With her hands almost shaking, she ripped open the paper. A small note fell out of the pieces. She'd seen these before. The paper, the font, the texture, the use of language. She _knew_ these. She stared at the letters.

'_You will regret'_

3 words, 13 letters. Simple as that.

**~o~o~o~o**

"Stupid hospital. Stupid doctor. Stupid, stupid car crash." Christine muttered. She was too drunk and too tired to use a more elaborate vocabulary. Almost crawling, she moved to the bed.

"Stupid." She repeated, and she felt tears forming in her eyes. Growling, she rubbed them. She didn't like to cry. She didn't like self-pity or pity at all. Still with her eyes filled up, she buried her head in the satin pillows. After the –in her eyes- most awkward elevator conversation ever, she had left for a bar. As usual, a peloton of horny men had been hitting on her, and as usual, she had let it slide. Even If George never could remember her or their past ever again, she would make him fall in love with her all over again. That could not be too hard, right? Especially since she already knew every little thing about him. She growled. Christine loved New York, she really did. She loved Blair and Rose, and she and Chuck were more than good. Her life was fine.

"Stupid," she said once again, and moments later, she fell asleep.

**~o~o~o~o**

Rose let her head fall on the pillow. Her mother's old apartment was magnificent, exactly like she would have thought it would be, but it wasn't home. Rose took about five suitcases with her to New York, only containing the minimum, since they _were_ actually going back to Paris, right? Tired, Rose clutched the small, consisting out of all the pieces taped together, paper with her father's name on it. With Chuck's name on it.

**~o~o~o~o**

"Where is your boyfriend?" Rose mocked as her mother walked in. Christine looked up and gave her a small wave. Both of the adults looked extremely tired. Blair threw an annoyed look at her daughter and sat down next to her best friend.

"Chuck is not here." She said dryly.

"So he's not?" Christine mentioned with raised eyebrows.

"Shut it, Bass," Blair groaned and Christine grinned. Rose pouted and played a little more with her food.

"So he's not?" she said. Both women looked at her as if she was someone completely different. Blair's shoulders lowered and she looked away.

"I don't know… I mean, it's –"

"Chuck." Christine interrupted her. The elevator doors slid open and all three of them expected to see Chuck Bass strolling in, but they were wrong. With a disappointed look on her face, Blair greeted Nate.

"Archibald." Christine said, with the same disappointment covering her face. "What are you doing here? Where is Chuck?"

Almost nervous, Nate ignored her and glared at Rose.

"Are you okay?" Blair said suspiciously. She always knew when something was on the blonde's mind. Nate shook his head.

"Serena doesn't know I'm here. She said I should let it go, but I can't."

"What's wrong?"

"I really need to know if Rose is my daughter."

**A/N as for the debate between Luna and Christine, I'm a sucker for that particular discussion. I mean, I loved debates. Especially since I always win, especially in this one (I'm **_**always **_**on bad-side).It's like… the one thing I'm good at. **

**Oh and, sorry for the late update… It's not that I don't want to, but we have no internet anymore after… yeah… somewhere around 7. Not only is that extremely useless, but I never post these chapters before that, so I always have to wait. And then wait longer, since my memory is terrible. I really hate my dad for this D:**


	12. Chapter 11

**A/N You know, I give up. I just like the useless chatting too much. Anyway, just a few days until my vacations! YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! WATCHING MOVIES AND TV ALL THE TIMEEEEEEEEEE! And not only, that, I will watch all the terrible episodes of GG in which Chuck and Blair are having fights and such (YEAH, my best friend has started watching GG (YEAH) and I re-watched all episodes again, but now she's at episode 22 of season 3, and I'm still at episode 17. It's not that I don't have the time, I have A LOT of time, it's just… I love Chair too much… I can't watch them having fights and such. It's too painful… I'll just play them at twice the speed. Or maybe trice. Or maybe I'll just read the summaries. Or maybe… Maybe I'll just grab the chocolate icecream and yell at the TV and then watch the Chair-wedding and all the other happy-Chair-episodes and of course all the Dorota-wepisodes (Dorota is adorable. She's so sweet. She's also like this little pig… so sweet). I'll just grow fat and old and obsessed with Chair and Ed Westwick. **

**Oh and I just really wanted to mention Moozanna for helping me through my block by provided the **_**best**_** idea ever. I was getting desperate. I was already thinking of the death of a random character. **

"Wha- What?" Blair stuttered. She scolded herself in silence. Blair Waldorf never stutters. She always knew what to say. But this time…

"Didn't Serena tell you?" she said when Nate didn't answer her former question.

"According to the idiotic look on your face, that would be a no." Christine mocked. She watched Blair closely. She actually knew who had the biggest chance of being Rosie's father, even if she only considered the girls appearance.

"Nate, we already talked about this," Blair said, and she sounded upset.

"What do you mean?"

"We –Rose, Chuck, Christine, Serena and I- already discussed this."

"Why didn't I know about that?"

"Because we thought it would be better…"

"Why?"

"Is you making a scene about this right now not enough evidence?"

"Blair, I-"

"Chuck didn't want to know."

"So? I don't care about him, I just-"

"No. he was right. I don't want you to ruin my life _again_."

"Again? Blair, what are you talking about?"

"That doesn't matter right now, Archibald. Now, leave." Blair had started yelling. No one realised the elevator doors had opened again.

"Hello ladies-" Chuck drawled as he walked in. He froze at the sight of a very angry Blair. She was wearing her chestnut curls in a ponytail and for the first time in weeks, she actually looked like the 17-year-old of so many years ago again.

"What did I miss?" he asked confused. He had spotted Nate, who was red and looking desperate. Before either of them could even try to answer, Rose beat them to it.

"He is here because he wants to see the outcome of the test."

All adults stared at Rose and as one, they started speaking.

"What test?" Nate said confused as usual.

"I thought you threw that away." Blair growled at Christine, who had her hands raised and muttered 'I didn't know' over and over again.

Chuck glared at his best friend, his eyes darkened. "Why would you ask for that, Nathaniel?"

Suddenly, they all stopped. Rose had ran away and returned with a white, folded paper in her hands.

"You taped it back together, haven't you?" Christine said with disbelief. Rose rolled her eyes at her mother who scowled: 'no shit, Bass'.

"Can I see it?" Nate asked, using his sweetest voice. At least 10 years of marriage with Serena rubbed off on him.

"_No_. you can't." Chuck snapped. The tension became stronger, almost touchable. Biting her bottom lip, Rose looked from her mother to Chuck. She couldn't call him her father, not even in her thoughts. It was as if the knowledge of her mother and aunt not knowing was enough to keep her from doing so. It's not that she doesn't _want_ to tell, but…

"Do you promise not to run?" she asked, looking at both Nate and Chuck. Nate nodded immediately, slowly followed by Chuck.

"Why?" someone asked confused. Rose didn't know who it was or even if it weren't her own thought, she still answered.

"I… I never had a father," she looked up to the men, "I can't show you if you'll run."

She fell the hand of her aunt on her shoulder. Phone's started buzzing, but no one caredd. Finally, rose looked at the paper in her hands.

_Father: Charles Bartholomew Bass_

An unwanted tear fell on the paper, causing some on the ink to disappear. Quickly, she held the piece in front of her, where it was snatched away by Nate. Stunned, Nate stared at the words:

_Father: Charles Bartholomew Bass_

He looked up to his best friend and started grinning. Blair and Chuck glanced confused at each other, but the other two knew exactly what he was so happy about. He handed the paper to Chuck.

"Congratulations, man," he said, and tried not to stare at Blair's expression. Christine smiled wildly.

"And the secret is out," she mused.

"You knew?" Blair asked, looking from Nate to Rose to Christine to Chuck. Her best friend shrugged nonchalantly.

"You always forget I have a minor in DNA-studies."

"I thought you were kidding," Blair scowled, and she turned to Chuck. She almost missed the love of her life wiping away his tears.

"Chuck… are you crying?" she asked, her voice laced with disbelief. He shook his head and turned away.

"Yes. Yes, you are crying." She laughed. Nate patted him on his arm, and even Christine smiled. The only one who didn't seem even near to happiness, was Rose.

"You're not leaving, are you?" she whispered. Slowly, Chuck freed himself from the others. He kneeled down before Rose and behind them; Blair covered her mouth with her hands. For once, without any hesitance, he placed his hands on the girl's shoulders.

"I will _never_ leave you or your mother. Or your aunt, for that matter. I don't care where you go, I'll just… travel around with you in a suitcase."

Rose smiled at him through her upcoming tears, and hooked her arms around his shoulders, clutching him against her in a tight embrace. Her make-up and tears ended up on his perfectly fitted designer suit.

"Chris…" Blair whispered, smiling, as her best friend snapped a photo of her brother and niece with her phone. Christine didn't react. She, Blair and Nate were staring silently at the scene. After a few seconds, Rose let her father go and sprinted away, after having muttered something about her make-up. Blair moved towards Chuck and put her arms around him from behind. With his eyes still filled up, he kissed her hand.

"Can I have that promise on paper?" she muttered as she laid her head on his shoulder. He laughed. She loved that laugh so much; it was one of the things she had missed the most in all her years in Paris. Chuck turned around in her arms and kissed her in a way he had never used before. He kissed her with the thought she was not only the love of his life, but the mother of his child as well. He kissed her with the simple thought she was everything. _Everything_. When they broke off, both out of breath, Christine and Nate had disappeared.

"But really, Chuck. I want that on paper." Blair said, trying to remain serious. Chuck nodded and started kissing her neck. Giggling, she started to push him away.

"Not here, not here… what if Rose walks in?"

"Well, she is a Waldorf-Bass, after all. She'll get used to it."

Blair started laughing. "Rosalyn Charlotte Waldorf-Bass. I like that."

Chuck smiled brightly, something he hadn't done in years. He loved the sound of that, too, and he spun her around. "I have something better… How about _Blair_ Waldorf-Bass? Or just Bass?"

"Charles Bass, is that a proposal?"

"Well, I don't have a ring to offer you, but I can give you eternity this moment."

"You better get me one when you do it properly." She smiled, brushing away a few strands of her hair. He nodded and their lips met once again. They didn't hear the elevator _again_, the only warning Christine had returned was a small cough.

"It's nice you have reconciled with all of you, but your daughter is _fifteen_. She can still run away because you are practically raping each other." The brunette said dryly. She was still dressed in her robe, with her dark hair in a messy bun.

"Raping literally means having sex while one person doesn't want to," Chuck retorted without his lips leaving Blair's neck.

"I don't want to." Christine said, casually strolling towards the kitchen.

"One of the participants."

"You are _kidding _me." Christine rolled her eyes and grabbed the coffee, glaring suspiciously at the dark substance. "Anyway, I'll make sure Rose doesn't walk in on you two fucking each other. Since _I_ apparently have become the good person here."

Blair rolled her eyes and continued her rendezvous with Chuck. Hiding her smile, Christine walked up the stairs and stepped into Rosie's room.

"Hey girl, how're you doing?" Christine asked, leaning against the door. Rose turned around; she had reapplied her make-up skilfully, and nodded.

"Yeah…. I'm okay, I guess. I am just happy…"

"You have what you always wanted. Did you know you have asked me, Blair, Santa and about every other person baring gifts for a father?"

Rose shook her head, and her aunt grinned.

"It was so sweet. You almost broke Blair, though, but that's okay. I'm happy you're all happy."

"I'm going down in a minute. I haven't finished breakfast yet and Collin promised to take me to all the interesting spots of New York." Rose said as she stood up and straightened her skirt.

"I don't think you want to do that. Go down, I mean. But for the other thing… since when are you so close with Collin Archibald?"

The girl tucked a dark curl behind her ear as she watched her aunt nervously. "We… talked… a lot… in Paris."

"I thought Rosalyn Waldorf didn't _do_ boyfriends."

"I never said that!"

"You implied it."

"You're being childish, aunt Chris!"

"Oh shush." They both laughed and for once in a long time, Christine didn't though about George or his amnesia.

**~o~o~o~o**

"Chuck?" Blair asked softly as she nuzzled closer to him. He put her arm around her small shoulders and kissed her temple.

"Mmm…"

"How about we legalize everything?" she whispered. It was quite late and both of them were tired, but she couldn't fell asleep before she had said it.

"Blair Waldorf, is that a proposal?" he muttered, silently smiling with closed eyes.

"Oh, shut up, Bass," she answered, slapping him on the chest. "But I meant it. You promised Rose you were going to stay, so I'm going to make sure you're legally bound to stay."

"Should I be scared now? Because I'm starting to freak out, Waldorf."

"I thought the big bad Chuck Bass wasn't scared of anything."

"Except for your mother, maybe."

"You were _afraid_ of my mother?"

"Eleanor is a very intimidating person, Blair!"

"So is Bart, but I wasn't afraid of him."

"You're Blair Waldorf. You're not afraid of anyone."

"You're so right about that."

They kept silent for a while. Both were awake, but neither spoke for a while. Chuck was the one to break the silence.

"I'd love to."

"To do what? Be afraid of my mother again?" Blair mocked. Now she knew, she wouldn't let it go. She could feel Chuck rolled his eyes.

"No, I meant to become Rose's father. On paper too."

She smiled brightly and kissed him. This was the moment. The moment to drop her bomb.

"Chuck?"

"Yes, Blair?"

"Are you happy?"

"Blair, I'm ecstatic."

"I have… something to tell you…"

"What is it?"

"I'm pregnant."

**A/N Although GG is my favourite tv-show ever (all thanks to Chair), have any of you seen The Carrie Diaries? Or The Following? They. Are. So. Good. O, and so is The Perks Of Being A Wallflower! So sad! I almost cried! There are 2 (now 3) movies that make me cry: obviously, The Perks Of Being A Wallflower, P.S. I love you and some French film in which a dude forgets his kids at the train station… MUHUHUUUUUUH D':**

**Also, I love all of you soooo muuuuch! I can't believe so many people are reading this! I don't even care about not leaving any reviews! **

**Oh, and, does someone have a good name for Blair's new baby? Because I was having an idea, but I don't think it would fit Chuck and Blair. So, if someone **_**does**_** know a good name, please please please pm me, that would be great :D**

**O and, about the baby: I thought there should be another mini-Blair or mini-Chuck running around in New York. At least one of their children should… O and I felt I should give Chuck the joy of holding his… third-born. Kid. Baby. You know what I mean. **


	13. Chapter 12

**A/N Hey everyone… I am sorry for this (rather late) update, but I have a good reason! At least, I hope you see it as a good reason for me to ignore my duties and eat nacho cheese chips (It's my comfort food…) and watch all the saddest Grey's Anatomy episodes I could find… Anyway, I'll tell: so, my supposed-to-be best friend (Jake) kind of broke up with me. He had been lying to me from the start. We had this magical movie/tv-show friendship. The kind of friendship Chuck and Blair had/have! My other Gossip Girl-addicted-friends always joked we were like them (which I practically saw as the biggest accomplishment of my life)… And… I really need to stop before I start crying all over again. I'm not sure if I should forgive him. Maybe I'm going to let him spoil me for a while (until now I have received 13 bouquets of tiger lily's (my favourites) and about a hundred purple stones (we had this thing...). should I forgive him? I mean, we **_**were**_** magical, although we weren't together at all… And we **_**were **_**really good together. Maybe I'll forgive him. I'm going to interrogate him about me first, though. **

**If I don't forgive him, I need a Dan (I was watching season 4 and realised Blair and Dan had this kind of sibling-relationship which was great because I hate them as a couple, but what I meant was: they are good intellectual friends. I need an intellectual friend too)… I need a friend who doesn't ask in which movie he played whenever I name Ernest Heminway or Scott Fitzgerald. I really need someone who sees the culture in fashion and doesn't say 1920's flapper dresses are from 1980. Yes. My best friend (Tanja) actually said that. I almost got a heart attack. Does someone have a brother who reads and watches good movies? May I have him? You can have my sisters? They're great if you want to feel better about yourself, that's how dumb they are. **

**Anyway, I promised my mom I stopped planning how to get rid of my idiot sisters, so thank you sooooooooooooo much for reading! **

"You're _what_?"

"This is not the reaction I was hoping for…"

"Blair… this is…"

"Terrible? Awful? Horrible? Unbearable? All of the above?"

"No-"

"It's okay. You're not ready for a baby, you don't know how to be a father, you don't want to change…" Blair's voice broke and she could feel the tears forming in her eyes. In one movement, Chuck threw the sheets off his body and scooped Blair up in his arms. Laughing, he twirled around with her body in his arms. Blair shrieked and hooked her own arms around his neck. Giggling like a little child, Chuck kissed her until both of them were out of breath.

"So you're happy?" Blair stated. Startled, Chuck glanced at her.

"Blair, this is _fantastic_. From the first time I ever saw you, I knew you were the woman I wanted by my side forever. Blair grinned and slapped him playfully on his chest.

"You sure?" she whispered, and she smiled at the memory of a certain night at Victrola. Chuck didn't answer her, but instead leaned closer and kissed her lips.

**~o~o~o~o**

"Isn't that going to take like forever?" Rose asked while looking at her parents. Chuck smirked.

"Not if you're a Bass." He drawled and Blair rolled her eyes.

"Your father will make sure it happens in no time, Rosie," she soothed and Chuck smiled wildly. He loved it when Blair –or just anyone for that matter- referred to him as Rose's father. He put an arm around Blair and kissed her temple. He felt her hand taking his and he smiled. It was the anniversary of his father's death, but he couldn't care less. He was free from the man, from his misery in general. He had Blair, Christine and Rose and now he finally got another chance to hold his new born. It would be a long and hard time waiting, but he didn't care. He didn't care about anything at all.

"So… would that mean I can get everything I want the moment I carry your name," Rose said, and Chuck grinned when he saw the longing look on her face. He laughed even harder when he saw Blair's disgust.

"Rosalyn Charlotte Waldorf! You're _still _a Waldorf and that's going to stay that way!" she practically shrieked.

"Please, mom, I won't forget that, but… if what he says is true, I can do anything! No one can touch me just because I am Rose Bass."

Blair's face turned white at her daughter's statement, and she closed her eyes. Chuck just laughed.

"And so it begins," Blair muttered. Today was the day of her first real public appearance. She was meeting her mother and Cyrus for lunch and was heading to a big social event with him this evening. Rose and Christine would be staying at Blair's apartment. Although the entire city of New York already knew Blair Waldorf had returned –Gossip Girl had posted a blast with a blurry picture-, no one actually knew whether it was true or not. Up and till now, the only people she had spoken with were them, the Archibalds, Vanya, Dorota and her mother.

"Well, she is out daughter," Chuck smirked. Blair rolled her eyes and threw him a subtle 'just wait until the next one'-look at which he simply shrugged. They were planning on telling everyone soon, but felt there was still too much pressure left. Blair hadn't told anyone, not even Christine, about the small, white envelopes she had received. There were three of them now, two new after the first one. They all contained similar threats:

'_What will happen to your baby daddy once you are gone?' _

'_Who will take care of your little flower if there is no one left?'_

The tone was playful as always, as if it was all just a game to the writer. It probably was a game. A game she couldn't win. Blair was snapped right out of her thoughts by Chuck and Rose playfully arguing over some little detail one of them had come up with. She turned around to see Christine sitting at the table fully dressed, sipping her coffee smiling, but with sad eyes. Blair walked over to her best friend. Neither Rose nor Chuck noticed enough to stop her.

"Are you okay, C?" Blair whispered softly as she sat down next to the other woman. Christine shook her head but kept on smiling.

"I am going to the hospital today, B. I am going to speak with George. Tell him about our children he can't remember. Our marriage. His work. His life –no- _our _life."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because you are happy. Rose is happy, Chuck is happy. I didn't really feel like spoiling the fun."

"You need to stop doing that."

"What?"

"Hiding things from me because I am happy."

"But-"

"I need you too, C. the threats returned."

When the words left Blair's lips, Christine almost dropped her mug, which was still filled with hot coffee. Agitated, she looked at her best friend.

"B! What? Have you told Chuck?"

Blair shook her head and she could see her best friend was almost in tears. Awkwardly, she patted her on her arm.

"Way to ruin the moment, isn't it?" Christine noted dryly when she had calmed down. Blair nodded silently. This wasn't exactly what she had been waiting for either.

"And you still don't know who is behind it?"

Blair shook her head. "Do you really think that if I knew I would be scared to stay in the city I love?"

"Tell Chuck. I'm sure he has people to figure it out."

"I know, but I can't. Not yet. Not right now."

"What do you mean?"

"He is having the time and happiness of his life, Chris. I have never seen him this way. Everything is perfect, and it would be for me to if it wasn't for the threats. Just let it be, for one more day."

"Okay… but tomorrow you _will_ tell him."

Blair sighed. "yes."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

**~o~o~o~o**

"So, Blair, how long have you been in New York?" Cyrus asked enthusiastically. He sat next to Eleanor and across from Blair. They seemed to be the focus of the entire restaurant.

"Oh, just a day, maybe two. I didn't keep track, really," Blair answered with a wide smile. She knew exactly how to act in these situations; happy, smiley and like there is absolutely nothing wrong at all. Sometimes there _are_ things to learn in the hotel business.

"And how long were you planning on staying, dear?" Eleanor asked warmly. Her daughter shrugged. It was a question depending on the most crucial aspects of her life, and all of those seemed to opposite each other, making it even harder for her to work it out. A group of giggling and excitedly whispering little girls scooted closer to their table. One took out her phone and quickly snapped a picture. Both Blair and Eleanor rolled their eyes.

"I hope for a long time," Blair answered her mother's question genuinely. Cyrus clapped in his hands and stood up to hug the young woman. Lightly, the three of them chatted a little longer about Blair's life and stay.

"Will you be attending the event this evening?" Eleanor mentioned quietly. In silence, Blair nodded. She had already picked out her dress, a long black ball gown designed by Zac Posen. It was a perfect fit and to be honest, Blair couldn't wait. According to Chuck and Serena, everyone would be there, including all her minions from Constance, NYU and Columbia. She would be able to brag about her job, her money, her daughter.

"Yes, I'm looking forward to it."

Cyrus smiled, but Eleanor pursed her lips. "Are you sure? You haven't been to a black-tie event in New York for 14 years."

"I'm fully aware of that, mother."

"Good. So, who are you going with? Are you bringing my lovely granddaughter?"

"What do you mean?" Blair answered confused. The way her mother asked her question implied something more than just curiosity.

"Well, you can't go alone." Eleanor mentioned as she was sipping her water.

"Of course she can!" Cyrus smiled, and he squeezed Blair's hand softly. "She is a strong, grown woman! If she wants to go alone, she can!"

Blair smiled. "Thank you, Cyrus, but there is no need to worry. Chuck invited me."

With a smack, Eleanor put down her glass, startled. "Chuck? As in Charles Bartholomew Bass? Wasn't he the reason that you left New York in the first place?"

She sighed. "Yes, that one, mother. And he wasn't the reason I left, even you should know that."

"what… was the real reason again?"

"That doesn't matter right now, does it? We should talk about more important things for example: what did I miss?"

"It has been 14 years, dear; you missed a life-time."

"I figured. But really, _nothing _interesting happened except for a Archibald-Van der Woodsen wedding?"

"Well, there was a very elaborated breakdown of Hazel Williams. And then there was the Shafai-Baizen scandal. Weren't they friends of yours, dear?"

"Minions. There were not worthy enough to be my friends," Blair sighed and glared at her mother and her husband, "But that's it? No suicide attempts because of my sudden leave?"

"Well…" Eleanor started, but her voice trailed off. Blair narrowed her eyes.

"What? Someone actually attempted suicide because of me?"

"Three times, actually," Cyrus mentioned hesitantly when her husband didn't answer. "And after that it got… worse."

"_Who _are you talking about, Cyrus?" she said, slowly and coolly. She didn't have a good feeling about this at all. After minutes, neither Eleanor nor Cyrus answered. It took Blair a stare down at her mother to receive her answer.

"He is talking about Charles, dear."

**A/N So, I was listening to Tickets To Crickets from Ferraby Lionheart while writing the second scene… if you listen to the song while reading, you'll understand, I think (:**

**But, there is more going on in my life. For example, my butt hurts. I have this really annoying writing chair and I don't know why I'm still using it. My ears hurt, too… my nails are painfully short and I have a cold. Again. I am literally going to spend my holiday feeling sorry for myself. **

**Oh no! MY HOLIDAY IS ACTUALLY GOING TO BE FUN! I really need to shower and I really need to do my homework even more, but I don't care! I have been planning Grey's Anatomy/Gossip Girl/favourite movies marathons! Yay! And now I have found out this lovely new show I actually like (thanks to Moozanna) (again): Arrow! IT IS GOOD! YEAH! **

**Oh and I need to warn you: you really can't put nacho's with cheese in the microwave. They will catch fire somehow. And also, don't drink hot cocoa (did I spell that right?) if you are a Divergent/FourTris-fan and reading the most fluffy little FourTris-fanfic ever. It will **_**not**_** work out. **

**Anyway, I love aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaall of you for reading! **

**(Oh and another A/N… (Yeah I talk an awful lot) as for the suicide-attemps: remember when Blair left Chuck for Louis and Dan and the Columbia-guy? He was pretty depressed, right? I always figured that when Blair left for a long time, he would try to kill himself. I like him too much, though, to let him succeed) **


	14. Chapter 13

**A/N Did you know that the agenda I use as story-notebook has a lovely saying about either leadership, hope or the future at the bottom of every page? It is hilarious… I have been quoting those with great dramatics every time someone says something about the future or power or something like that. Or just when it's silent. For example: I saw the most stupid saying ever while writing this chapter. It was deadly silent when I loudly exclaimed: 'Constantly dripping hollows out a stone' during my geography lessons. Of course I caused my teacher to instantly hate me: apparently, constantly dripping does **_**not **_** hollow out a stone. **

**You know, from now on I'm going to start every new chapter with the saying of that day. Isn't this going to be fun? **

**The saying of today is: 'they can because they think they can'… That's not very true, is it? I think I'm able to get an A for history, but that doesn't mean I get one. Hell, the chances of me getting an A for history are even smaller than my little sister to understand sarcasm (she really doesn't understand sarcasm…). Actually I don't even have history lessons. **

**But, let's start with the story. O, and, thank everyone for hitting the follow and favourite buttons! I ESPECIALLY LOVE THE PEOPLE WHO ADDED ME TO FAVOURITE AUTHORS. You make me sooooo proud on myself!**

"What?" Blair's mouth fell open. Confused, she looked from her mother to her stepfather. "Wha- What exactly happened?"

Avoiding her daughter's gaze, Eleanor answered quietly. "No need to worry dear. It has been so many years ago… He has been out of the Ostroff centre for 9 years now. He seems to be fine."

"Ostroff centre?" Blair almost whispered, with a dry mouth. Before her mother could answer, Cyrus placed his hand over hers.

"It is not our place to tell you, Blair! You need to ask Chuck. I am sure he will tell you."

Grabbing her phone, Blair shoved her chair back and made her way to the street, practically shoving people pit of her way. Once outside, she simply dialled 1.

"_You _have reached Charles Bass' phone. _He_ is not here at the moment, but I'd love to hear what you have to say…" a voice that wasn't Chuck's drawled. A _female _voice she didn't recognize at first. Blair stopped, causing a group of students to bump into her. After scowling at them, she turned back to her phone.

"Christine? Why are you answering Chuck's phone? Did something happen?"

"Well, only if you'd call Rose spilling gelato on his favourite Armani suit and Chuck actually being okay with that an interesting happening. He really doesn't seem like the guy to be okay with that at all."

Blair smiled. "Although that _is_ interesting, where are you?"

"The park. It is lovely here, B."

"Where is Chuck now?" Blair turned around. She could see the entrance to the park from there, but it was useless to walk in and search for her family is she didn't even knew where they were. Her family. Unconsciously, Blair smiled. She loved the sound of that. After so many years, she finally had a perfect, slightly disturbed family of her own. One which would be elaborated soon enough. Blair was so deep in her thoughts she almost missed her best friend's answer.

"They're feeding the ducks. Chuck mentioned something about how much her _mother_ loved to do that with her maid and I may have spilled something about Rose's dream from when she was still a little girl…"

"Which one?" she retorted dryly. Christine grinned.

"The one in which she fed the ducks with her father. They look adorable."

"I can see." Smiling, Blair strutted towards her best friend. She had spotted the brunette a long time before, but hadn't reached her until now. She ended their call and embraced Christine with an even brighter smile.

"So," she stated, and Christine laughed as Blair opened her Marc Jacobs bag and pulled out a camera. "This moment is monumental. Where are they exactly?"

"I'll tell if you do," Christine drawled. Blair rolled her eyes.

"If you mean the reason of my call? I wanted to discuss something with Chuck."

"Something important?"

"You could say that."

"Matter of life and death?"

"Sort of."

"I'm intrigued. Tell me more, is it about the threats? Do you know who it is?"

"It isn't about the threats and I still don't know who. How could I make progress in a few hours?"

Christine shrugged and Blair continued. "Now, where are they?"

Her best friend bit her bottom lip, but pointed at a small path. After a dramatic kneel, she followed the sandy path Christine had pointed her. She wasn't three meters away from the scene when she broke. Everything inside her just… broke. She should be happy; she knew she should be. Chuck and Rose looked so perfect… so joyful. Almost in tears, Blair stumbled back to Christine, who immediately dropped her third chocolate truffle and embraced her best friend.

"B? Why are you crying?" she looked around her and lowered her voice in panic. "Where are Rose and Chuck?"

"Still there, but-" she sobbed, and the other woman looked confused. Both of them knew she had full reason to be.

"But what?" Christine encouraged her.

"What is she doesn't need me anymore?"

"Wha- Blair, I don't understand."

She sobbed. "Rose. What if Rose and Chuck become so close she doesn't need me anymore?"

Christine laughed, and Blair slapped her shoulder, insulted. "It is _not_ funny!"

Christine held up her hands and smirked. "If you say so. But is this why you called?"

Blair shook her head. "No… but I'm serious, Chris. I don't want to lose my little girl!"

"You won't –well, you will, but to a man. Probably like Chuck, but not him. Girls marry their fathers. At least, that's what they say."

"That doesn't make sense."

"yeah, I realise that now too. Anyway, Rose will never forget who her mother is. Or her aunt, for that matter. I will make sure of it, okay? And is she _does_ become real close to your man, you just become closer." She laughed. "A little disturbed, though. Mother and daughter fighting over the same man, which happens to be the father of the girl."

Blair joined in her friends laughter. "You are right. Thank you, Christine."

"You are welcome. Now, I hope it is not too late to snap a photo of the big bad Chuck Bass feeding the ducks with his _gorgeous_ 15-year-old daughter?"

They didn't hear the steps behind them. They didn't even notice the silhouettes under the trees.

"I am sorry, ladies," Chuck drawled while smirking. "It is. But you can always snap one of the big bad Chuck Bass with the love of his life." He walked over and kissed Blair passionately. Rose followed him closely, avoiding her parents kiss.

"Mom, what are you doing here? I thought you were at lunch with grandma Eleanor and Cyrus?"

Blair smiled and laced her fingers with those of her daughter. "Something came up."

"What? Important?"

"Yes. But I will take about it with Chuck later." They smiled, and Christine placed her hand in the crook of her brother's arm. He leaned closer.

"Do you know what she's talking about?"

Smiling, but careless, she shrugged her shoulders. "Not at all."

**~o~o~o~o**

"You look beautiful, Blair," Chuck smiled. He had waited years for this. He had waited years to escort Blair to a back-tie event; he had wanted to do that ever since the first time he did. They were 9 at that time and even then, Blair looked absolutely stunning.

"Thank you," Blair answered as she smiled back. She was wearing a gorgeous Zac Posen gown, one Chuck had bought her. He held up his hand, and she took it without any hesitance.

"Why can't you take us?" Christine whined as she entered the hallway of the Waldorf apartment. Chuck smirked and his sister stuck out her tongue.

"I need you to be a big girl, now, Chris." Chuck smirked. "We'll be back tomorrow. Or maybe the day after that."

Both Rose and Christine pouted. The sight of her daughter with her puppy eyes almost made Blair feel bad. Chuck, who noticed this the second she started doubting, grabbed her hand and squeezed it.

"They'll be fine, Blair, they're just bored."

Rose rolled her eyes, but stilled hugged her mother. "You look great, mom. You really do. Have fun. Make the high school bitch jealous."

Blair smirked. "Honey, I _was_ the high school bitch."

Confused, the girl turned to Chuck. "If mom was the bitch, what were you then?"

"You really don't want to know, honey," her mother said before Chuck could answer. He smirked and draped his arm around Blair's waist and kissed her chocolate curls. With a small wave, they left the apartment.

"How do you feel about seeing everyone again?" Chuck started. He could tell something was up with Blair, something that had something to do with him. He had asked her about it before, twice, but both times she hadn't answer.

"Good, I suppose," Blair answered slightly distracted. He raised his left eyebrow, and she rolled her eyes at him.

"I am fine, Chuck. I really am."

"Then why do you seem so distracted?"

"My mother said some things during our lunch."

"About Georgina and Bart?"

"No… What have whore-gina and your dead father to do with this?" Confused, Blair glared at Chuck. Her mother hadn't mentioned either of them at all during their lunch.

"More like corpse-gina and zombie father."

"Bart and Georgina switched?"

Chuck nodded.

"How? Why? What?" Blair tried not to sound too startled as they walked towards the Palace, where the event was held. There were people already taking pictures of her and Chuck. Blair scowled, but decided it wasn't good for her image if she choked three little Serena-and-Blair-wanna-be's.

"Apparently Bart was threatened and left to protect me and Lily," he stopped abruptly and turned to look at Blair. "Like you."

Avoiding his eyes, Blair let him take off her Alexander McQueen coat. "And Georgina?"

"She drowned in the Hamptons. Her body was never found, but she couldn't have survived it."

Blair's mouth formed a perfect 'O'. As they walked in, Chuck offered her his arm, and she gratefully took it. People were staring at them now, and both enjoyed every second of it. A man in a perfectly tailored suit approached them and Chuck quickly turned his back to him. He had promised Blair tonight would be all about her, no business talks, not even any conversation with colleagues. He took her hand and almost dragged her with him on his way to see Lily, who he had spotted in the crowd.

"There is Lily. She is delighted you're back, let's go see her," he smiled, and a smile appeared automatically on her face. He did this to her, every time. Every time he was there, she just couldn't stop smiling. Lily was indeed delighted to see her, and to Blair's surprise, not Rufus, but Bart stood on her side. Bart and Chuck seemed to be close, and both he and Lily were in a happy marriage.

"How long have you been married?" Blair asked. She wasn't curious about Lily's life at all, but she needed to keep the conversation going. Serena and Nate hadn't arrived yet, and she couldn't see her mother or Cyrus. While Lily practically spoke to herself about her wedding and how much she loved being back together with Bart, and how he was her best husband until now, Blair looked around the room. It hadn't changed, apparently the Basses thought classic was still perfect, and she recognized her old minions, and even some of her actual friends, such as Kati Farkas. Kati strutted towards them with the brightest smile, and interrupted Lily by hugging Blair.

"B! OMG you are back! You are probably already filled in by every interesting scandal in the last 14 years, but I'd be happy to tell you all over again. Are you here with Chuck? Have you met my husband? They work together! O, this is so amazing!"

Blair laughed at her old friend, who became more enthusiastic every second. "I don't know if I know _everything_, but I do know I know enough. And I am here with Chuck indeed, it's good you are still able to comprehend such things. I do not have met your husband, but I'd love to, over lunch."

Kati smiled and was called away, only to be replaced by none other than two of her former minions, Penelope and Hazel.

"Blair," Penelope started in her own, arrogant way, causing Blair to shoot her a degenerating look, "It's good that you're back. New York needs its queen. One that is able to scheme."

"Although I do not want to know who took my throne after me, I don't _do_ scheming anymore," she retorted coldly.

"Why, Blair, have you lost your touch?" Hazel grinned, and Blair raised one eyebrow.

"No," she smiled bitchy before grabbing Chuck's hand and turning back to him, Bart and Lily, "But I've gained a family."

"And I wouldn't want to switch it in any situation," she added softly with a smile to Chuck.

**A/N I really wanted to share the link for Blair's dress. For, err, visualisation. Yeah, sure.**

** /zac-posen/pre-fall-2013/rtw-1073/item/attached-sash-novelty-ball-gown-145052?utm_medium=Linkshare&utm_source=Linkshare&utm_content=gcdL/ATRVoE&siteID=gcdL_ATRVoE-VmCrBtAKgQpwcieeYDIqvw**

**Oh, and I'm sorry this was such a filler chapter, there are **_**a lot**_** of things I need to work out in coming chapters, but I didn't realise this was a lot already. Anyway, I have enough ideas and points to work out, so there will be a lot more! Thank you once again for reading ^^ **

**OH! And I know it said Ellie Saab (Blair's dress) first, but I changed it into Zac Posen, because I was looking for the link on Lyst and saw this one, which I thought was even better. And I already used Ellie Saab once (Christine's dress at the masquerade) and felt I needed to use my other favourite designers at least once too (Balenciaga/Alexander McQueen/Ellie Saab/Marchesa/Oscar de la Renta/Zuhair Murad) (: **


	15. Chapter 14

**A/N I am now the proud owner of a complete zoo of stuffed animals… I have received a 2 meter high giraffe, a life-size bear, a lion, a tiger which covers my entire bed and a **_**population**_** of birds. I am going to donate most to charities, but I hope I can keep one. The giraffe. I love the giraffe. I'm keeping the giraffe. **

**Anyway! I have been planning Chuck and Blair's wedding. Literally. Dresses, shoes, location, everything. I don't know why I have been doing that, but it's kind of calming. Having problems with designers, though. I'm a big Zac Posen fan and I found this amazing, amazing dress which would be perfect as a wedding dress, but Blair isn't a Zac Posen girl, is she? Now I'm stuck. **

**Oh, and the saying of today is… "either you run the day or the day runs you"… the day runs me… I don't like running, or doing anything at all. I still have 2 days of vacations, I'm not going to do a thing! Yeah! **

**And I love you for reading, as always… **

"Are you going to tell me now what's bothering you?"

"Hmm?" Blair looked up from her plate. Chuck had grabbed her hand and glared at her now. She raised her eyebrows and sipped her water. Not only every waiter that walked around the room, but Lily and Bart as well had offered her a range of alcoholic beverages, but Chuck had snatched them away before she could even refuse them politely. Serena and Nate had arrived a little while before, but they were called away by an 'emergence' of Kate.

"_Something _has been bothering you since your lunch with your mother. Are you okay?"

She closed her eyes. The information of Chuck staying at the Ostroff centre for _five_ years had been a shock, and she hadn't forgotten it at all, but now wasn't the time to talk about it either.

"I'm fine, Chuck," she wanted to smile at him and ignore her stress, but she couldn't. In a moment of stupidity, she leaned closer to him. "I have to talk with you about something."

"We can talk now?"

She shook her head and bit her lip. "Not here."

"Okay… let's go outside then," he smiled at her as he kissed her hand. She followed him closely as she shot death-glares at random women who watched them.

"So, what did you want to talk about?"

Blair rubbed her arms. It was cold, and she felt bad. She had never seen Chuck this happy, and she didn't want to break them out of their perfect little world.

"My mother said something… about you," she whispered, and she could see his smile fade. Both of them knew he knew what she was talking about.

"I'm okay now. I'm okay now you're back."

"I know, it's just… I need to know. If you don't mind…"

"Of course not," he said, and he led her away from the people that were now leaving the Palace. She smoothed the skirt of her gown and tucked a curl behind her ear. After a silence, Blair started.

"So what happened?"

He sighed. He knew this would come up somehow, but he'd hoped it would take a long time. "A week after your disappearance, I wasn't the only one anymore who was concerned. Before that, people said I was crazy. I thought you were abducted or something and I have put so, so many people on it to find you, but… a month later, no one could find a thing. It was the news of the Upper East Side… Blair Waldorf had disappeared, she had practically _fallen_ of the earth… after the day of your disappearance, there were no other records about you. My PI's couldn't do anything anymore and I and I… I lost it. I lost everything," he looked up to her. "I just love you so damn much, Blair, and when you were gone, so was my will to continue. Remember how it took me so long to tell you how I felt? I was afraid that if I'd admit it, I could lose you. I didn't want to lose you… And then… I don't know what exactly happened, but… the first time I was up there, you saved me. The second time, no one was there. No one was there to stop me from jumping. I was drunk; I mean, I was completely and utterly _wasted_, but it couldn't stop me from stepping of the edge. At first, everyone thought I slipped or something, but when I kept telling them it was on purpose, Lily decided it would be best if she took over my seat at Bass Industries and The Empire, and sent me to the Ostroff centre."

Blair pressed her forehead against his shoulder. She didn't want to hear any more things about what her leaving New York had done to the love of her life, but he continued talking.

"When I got there I started separating my medications. I got a lot of different sort of pills, and I didn't even know which ones at all. 6 months later, I tried to overdose. As you can see, it didn't work. From that second, I got this nurse to watch over me every time I had to take my pills. I got to know her and convinced Andrew –who I'd ask to come by several times- to find all the dirt he could find on her. Of course he came back with enough for me to pursue her unto helping into another attempt of suicide. It went horribly wrong and I almost died on the table, but I recovered and stayed at the Ostroff for three more years, after which I went back to work, drinking and feeling miserable."

At the time Chuck looked back up to Blair, her eyes were full of tears. Repeatedly whispering 'I am so sorry, I am so sorry', she cried. When Cyrus and Eleanor had told her it was three times, she had thought it would have been accidents, small –relatively small- things. This was big –so, so big. Tears fell, and she squeezed his hand so tightly Chuck had to hold back a groan.

"I am okay now. You are here and Rose, and we are having another baby, and it's going to be fine."

Blair shook her head. It was all true, but it was not enough. Over the years she had been in Paris, she could have lost him. _Lost_ him. She could think of only one thing left to do. She looked at him and whispered;

"Chuck Bass, will you marry me?"

**~o~o~o~o**

"Auntie Christine, are you okay?"

Rose looked at her aunt, who stared blankly at the credits of Bonnie And Clyde, their favourite movie. Startled, the older brunette glanced at her niece. She nodded, but too quickly. Rose raised her eyebrow.

"You're not. What's wrong?"

Christine sighed. Over the years, she had lost the ability to lie successfully to her niece.

"It is the 14th of July today…"

"So?"

"It's an important but sad day for me."

"Why is that?" Rose questioned.

"You don't want to know, Rosie," Christine answered with a laugh. She couldn't lie, but she could act. Christine hugged her niece and kissed her dark curls.

"Of course I do! You have been sad like this for days… is it about uncle George?"

Christine shook her head. She hadn't seen her husband at all for the last days, but she had a date with him and the 'memory-therapist' –as she called her, tomorrow. She glanced back at Rose, who continued to stare her down.

Christine sighed again. "A long time ago, I had a brother. Not Chuck. He… was my adoptive brother and we were very close. We did _everything_ together, until he participated in a school exchange in New York. He was gay and his life had been rough. The year he spent in New York was just _too_ much and when he came back, he committed suicide."

She shivered, and Rose embraced her aunt even stronger.

"What was his name?"

"Christian. Christian Arthur Moore."

**~o~o~o~o**

"What?"

Startled, Chuck looked at the woman at his side. He had expected something extreme like this, but not _this_. His reaction seemed to surprise her even more than her question surprised him.

"You hear me."

"Yes, but I don't understand…"

"I thought…I just don't want to lose you. Ever."

"Blair, you will never lose me. I'm going to stay, or stalk you, forever," he pressed his lips on her hands. "Just like I promised Rose."

"Then you will have no problem marrying me." She tilted her head and he laughed. He _laughed_.

"There will never come a day I will have a problem with sharing the rest of my life with you," he tilted her chin up and kissed her lips softly. "So, yes. I will marry you."

Blair grinned and leaned in for another kiss. Smiling more happily than ever, Chuck gladly provided her with one.

"So…" he whispered as she pulled back a little, "where is my ring?"

Blair laughed and muttered a soft; "Well, I don't have a ring to offer you, but I can give you eternity this moment."

"I'd take that one gladly."

"Good. I don't have the time to force you anyway."

**A/N have I already said how much I love Bonnie and Clyde (them and the movie)? I love them… I really do. **

**I'm sorry this is such a short chapter in comparison to the others, but I liked this point to stop at….**

**Love you all!**


	16. Chapter 15

**A/N The saying of todaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay is… 'Try not to become a man of success but a man of value.' Well, one: I'm not a man. Two: I'd rather have success and then value than first value and then success. I mean, you can't do a thing with value, no one will appreciate it, but if you've success… well, than at least people know who you are…. (and there come the invisibility-issues) (naw, I won't say a thing, I don't want you to hate me). **

**So. Jake and I are good, which is good. YAY! I am still sort-of sad he lied to me, but he still is the person who knows me best and thinks the same about… well, pretty much everything. And he loves Bonnie and Clyde too. AND ALICE IN WONDERLAND! YEAH! **

**And I might be madly in love with him. **

**You know how you always see such shitty movies about a guy trying to get out of the friend-zone? It is a lot harder when you're a girl and he knows you're obsessed with love and Ed Westwick. He probably won't believe me. How about I just… I don't know kiss him in a random, not-drunk moment..? Will that work? Does anyone here have knowledge of these things or am I the only one who really doesn't know how to do this? My life is weird… **

**BUT THAT DOESN'T KEEP ME FROM REPEATING ONCE AGAIN: I love you guys for reading! You make me so damn proud on myself whenever I failed another assignment (I probably didn't do anyway). **

"So... should we be concerned or something?" Christine asked dryly as she sipped her orange juice. It was about 8 in the morning and way too early for all of them to be awake already, but they were still located at the kitchen table of the Waldorf's apartment.

"Why?" Blair tilted her head.

"Because you're smiling on your creepy I-have-got-a-secret-way," Rose mentioned. Her mother shot her a look.

"I do not have such a smile, young lady."

"You really do, I bet even Chuck knows." Christine glanced at Chuck, who nodded slightly. They smirked. Blair huffed, and crossed her arms.

"Well, now I won't tell you my secret," she mocked, and smiled at the shocked expression of Rose. Both mother and daughter loved secrets. It was their thing, and both knew she wouldn't be able to keep it to herself for long anyway. A cold glare from Christine was enough to loosen her tongue.

"Fine, but only because you will find out soon enough if I wouldn't."

Rose and Christine smiled triumphantly. Before Blair could speak, the elevator doors opened up and a young man with dark hair and blue eyes walked in, obviously nervous.

"Collin?"

Stunned, the three adults looked at the boy. He was wearing casual but expensive clothes, and had started to look like a perfect copy of his father. Beaming, Rose pushed her chair back and ran towards the boy, hooking her arms around his neck and kissing his cheek.

"Oh! You're here..!" she smiled as she grabbed his hand and dragged him to the table, practically pushing him on a chair.

"So… nice of you to join us, Collin," Chuck muttered, frowning confused.

Collin looked just as equally confused. "Yeah, thanks, Uncle Chuck."

"May I know what's going on?" Blair asked coldly, and they could feel the temperature in the room decrease instantly.

"Collin is having breakfast with us," Rose retorted calmly.

"Apparently." Her mother pursed her lips and raised her eyebrows. Collin, who kept staring at his feet, looked like a kicked puppy when he heard Blair's cold voice. Rose narrowed her eyes and before she could snap something at her mother, Chuck cut in.

"We might as well let him stay, love. He's not going to do anything."

Collin quickly nodded, and after a moment of consideration, Blair sighed.

"Don't expect us to be all happy and bubbly at this time of the morning," Christine smirked, and Collin grinned. All of them knew she was talking about the Archibalds.

"Oh, but they aren't even my real parents! Normally, I'd still be asleep," he laughed, bet the others –except for Chuck- fell silent.

"They aren't your real parents?" Blair asked with a certain disbelief laced in her voice. The boy shook his head.

"Adopted," Chuck explained briefly. Blair's red lips formed a perfect 'O', and both Rose and Christine mirrored her expression.

"Who are your parents, then, Collin?" Christine asked. She had a natural habit of an extreme curiosity, and she loved scandalous secrets. In Paris she was known for knowing and using every speck of dirt that she could find on a person. She and Blair had been the elite of Paris, and they had climbed on many others to get there. Collin shrugged.

"I don't really know."

"Do you want to know?"

"Some day, I guess."

"She nodded, not entirely satisfied with his answer. It wasn't her place to question him anyway, so instead, she focused on her brother and best friend.

"How about…" she drawled, "You tell me your secret?"

Blair rolled her eyes, but next to her, Chuck smiled brightly. Not smirked, _smiled_. Collin noticed this too.

"Whoa, uncle Chuck! Last time you looked this happy, grandfather Bart had risen from the dead and complimented you on your work."

Rose's jaw dropped. "What?" her eyes shimmered,"_Really_?"

"My mother –your grandmother-, Rosalyn, is dead. I spent my entire life trying to please my father, but I was never good enough." Chuck's jaw clenched as he explained. He never told _anyone_ that easily, but she was his daughter after all. She hadn't had a father for 14 years, and he knew she had been trying to impress Blair like he'd tried to impress Bart. She and Christine might understand. _Might, _and in their own way, like Blair did. The girl nodded, and shifted her attention back to her mother, who frowned at him, but not in a judging way.

"Well," she said as she looked over the table and the people that sat at it. "I don't know whether this would be the best moment, but it would be a shame if you'd hear at the family dinner that's coming up."

Christine tapped her foot impatiently, waiting for the news. Instead of spilling her secret, Blair managed to find Chuck's hand and hold it tightly.

"We are getting married." She almost blurted out with a wide smile plastered on her face. Rose's eyes widened and Christine started to clap her hands in genuine enthusiasm. Collin tried to congratulate them, but was stopped by Blair who, while smiling as the filled-with-happiness-crazy-person she had become, added:

"And we are pregnant."

"Oh!" Christine loudly exclaimed. She stumbled towards her best friend and almost tripped when she hugged the other brunette woman. "I am _so_ happy for the both of you! You are going to name her after me, right, is it's a girl?"

It was impossible to see who was happier; Blair or Christine. It was a lot easier to tell how Rose and Collin felt silent in stunned surprise. Chuck felt proud, more proud than he had ever felt. He squeezed his beautiful fiancée's hand and smirked at the still-open-mouth of his daughter.

"But…" the girl stuttered in disbelief, "Aren't you like, way too old for that?"

They fell silent. Slowly and threatening, Blair spoke directly to her daughter: "I am not even in my forties, dear. I –_we-_ are not too old at all. And if you want to live to tell the tale of my wedding, you might not want to mention such nonsense ever again."

Silently, Rose nodded. It was easier to acknowledge defeat than fight over the argument.

"Congratulations, Uncle Chuck," Collin muttered politely. The man simply nodded in response, and added a small 'don't you even think about telling your parent, though.'

"You're having a small heir or heiress of New York!" Christine squealed, and she moved to Chuck to hug him as well.

"A little late, I suppose, but-" Blair smiled before Rose cut her off.

"And what am _I_ in this picture?"

"The heiress of Paris, sweetheart," her mother commented dryly before turning back to Christine again.

"But Manhattan is in _need_ of more class and style. At least Serena dumped Humpty-Humphrey. I was afraid I had to slaughter him to get away from his Brooklyn-slash-Muppet appearance."

Chuck smirked. "Last thing I heard about him was that he married that Abrams-girl."

"Who, Vanessa?"

"That one."

"Didn't you sleep with her in high school?"

"Only to win _you_ back, beautiful." He kissed the hand he was still holding. She raised her left eyebrow, but didn't ask any further questions. Neither of them noticed Rose and Collin had slipped away or that Christine had managed to put on her shoes and coat already. She was ready to leave for her day at the hospital. Silently, she walked away as well.

**~o~o~o~o**

"Hi… I am here to see George Marlowe. He was recently transferred from Paris."

The receptionist, a young redhead, smiled empathically at her. Christine held back a scowl. She didn't like pity or empathy, and certainly not from strangers.

"Car crash, coma and amnesia?" the girl –Helena, her name tag said- asked. The brunette nodded. Helena browsed through some files on her computer, and after a few minutes, she looked up as if the woman was about to save her own life.

"And who can I bring to his room?"

Christine rolled her eyes. The attempt to a joke was weak and pathetic. "I'm Christine Elizabeth Marlowe-Bass and I am his _wife_."

"Oh. I'm sorry for what happened to him."

"If I got a dollar for every time I heard that, I'd be the richest woman of the world."

They didn't continue their conversation; instead she followed the girl in silence. She had paid much to get George a private room, and apparently, they had given him the best one they could find. It was cold, but big. He was lying in bed, his dark hair ruffled and his magnificent blue eyes closed. She sat down next to him, and her hands caressed his cheek and hair. Christine bit her lip and one, lonely tear fell on her knees. They had been so happy together, so perfect. Everyone had envied them, their marriage, their children. Now it was all gone, with just small hope of coming back. The loss of Sydney and Hugo had not been that much of a pain; she had let them go many years ago. But he was still here, and there was still a chance he could recover. There had to be. Softly, she started singing. He had always said she had a lovely voice.

_We are all living the same way_

_We are escaping the same way_

_Circling_

_We are a part of the same play_

_We think we're making our own way_

_Circling_

She didn't care about the lyrics. This was their song. When she finished, she kept caressing his hair, something she couldn't stop.

_You don't have to hold your head up high_

_Round and round_

_I won't run away this time_

_Till you show me what this life is for_

_Round and round_

_I'm not gonna let you change my mind_

_Till you show me what this life is for_

"You are a good singer, you know that," someone said from behind. Shocked, Christine turned around and looked at the blonde woman who stood quite close to her. This must be the therapist who was going to help them get his memory back.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"You must be Christine Marlowe-Bass."

She nodded, and shook the hand the woman had extended.

"My name is Sarah."

"Nice to meet you. So, do you have many success stories?"

"What?"

"Are there a lot of victims you have helped to regain their memory?"

"They say I am the best."

"You better be."

"Look, Mrs Marlowe-"

"Christine."

"Christine. I understand you want your husband to recover, but I can't promise you a thing."

Christine sighed and she felt more tears forming in her eyes. "I know."

She squeezed her husband's hand, hard enough to wake him up. When his eyes opened, she quickly pulled away with pain filled in her heart.

"Welcome back," she whispered as he tried to sit up. He didn't even glance at her, he was focused at Sarah, and Christine flinched. No one noticed.

"I'm your psychiatrist, Sarah," the blonde said with a charming smile. Not a therapist, apparently. George nodded and shook her hand.

"I'd tell you my name, but I can't remember it, so you'll have to tell me."

Sarah laughed and winked. "Okay, then, George. Normally I'd say you would have to go back to your old life if you want to recover your memory, but it has been a very long time."

He nodded in understanding, and she continued. "This is Christine Marlowe-Bass, she's-"

"I thought I didn't have any sisters."

Christine flinched and bit the inside of her cheek until she tasted blood. She had predicted he wouldn't remember a thing of their previous conversation. With unsteady breath, she tried to smile.

"No honey, I am your wife." She swallowed her tears. Don't cry, she repeated in her head, don't cry. He turned to her and… not even a flash of recognition. Nothing. Sarah started speaking and asked questions, but Christine couldn't concentrate. The only thing on her mind was the cold look of disinterest the love of her life had shown.

**~o~o~o~o**

"Your favourite band."

"Imagine Dragons and Florence and the Machine."

"Movie?"

"Bonnie and Clyde. The old one, with Faye Dunaway."

"Who are Bonnie and Clyde?"

"_Who_ doesn't know Bonnie and Clyde?"

With a face of disgust, Rose stared at Collin. She liked him/ je was handsome, sweet and intelligent. The only problem was he had about as much culture as a stone.

"This is the Upper East Side, Rosie," Collin answered, laughing at her face.

"So? Who are the Bonnie and Clyde of the Upper East Side, then?"

"People here know Blair and Chuck-"

"Wait, what?"

"Your parents are legends here, honey."

"Why...?"

"The most legendary love story of New York –and the rest of America- and of course Gossip Girl."

"Who's that?"

"Now who's uncultured?"

"I'm from Paris, Archibald."

"Touché. Okay, so she was –no, _is_- an anonymous blogger who blogs about only the elite and most interesting people of New York: my parents, yours, Laine's and Scott's."

Laine and Scott –a boy and girl she had met a few hours ago- nodded. They were close friends with Collin and from Brooklyn. Rose had detested them the second she met them, but decided it would be best to mix with the peasants if she wanted to become the new queen, like she was in Paris, and a queen needs to know her people.

"But yours were most interesting," Laine said. She was blonde and not very bright, but at least she knew the difference between fake and real Chanel. She would make a good handmaiden after a little training.

"Show me," Rose demanded, and Scott tossed her his phone. Quickly she scanned the blasts that had appeared on the screen. There were things about Lonely and Golden boys she didn't care about, but then she found it. It was rather new, from a few days ago, with a photograph of her, her mother and her father.

**_Apparently the King and Queen of New York are not dead, as you can see. Our favourite Queen Bee has returned home with a very familiar princess at her side. _**

Familiar? Confused, she shot an asking look at Collin, who briefly explained she looked exactly like her mother when she was her age.

"Is there any more?" she asked, and the other three nodded. Scott and Laine were enthusiastic, Collin hesitantly. Rose returned the phone to Scott, who gave it back a moment later. The screen was _filled_ with blasts, photographs and videos concerning her parents. Her jaw dropped, and in astonishment, she whispered:

"This. Is. Fucking. Creepy."

**A/N I have developed a new obsession: Imagine Dragons. They're good! I knew It's Time already, but then again, who doesn't? But. They. Are. So. Good. I love them. So, that's why I used one of their songs in this chapter. I also might have developed a love for superhero cartoons… bear with me when I become a comic book-nerd. **

**Oh and I know the last chapter ended with a slightly disturbing note; I don't know what happened there. I used the file upload, and when I checked the original document, the last note wasn't there at all. Weird thing is, I was actually busy with writing a article about Emmanuel Goldstein... **


	17. Chapter 16

**A/N let me start with the saying of this lovely, lovely day: 'The secret of success is to know something nobody else knows'. Well, I know exactly how to fuck up coffee (I'm an expert), but it doesn't bring me success. Maybe success in failure, but well, that would be a paradox (philosophy…)… **

**I love Imagine Dragons. I love On Top Of The World. I love Moozanna for recommending it to me. And you know why? 'coz it worked! My stupid ex-best friend is now my stupid current-boyfriend! YEHAAAAAAAAAAAAA! He's like the worst boyfriend in the world, but I'm madly, madly, madly in love with him and I wouldn't change a thing. Okay, maybe I would, but still… **

**Anyway! Yeah! New chapter! **

Chuck and Blair went shopping. Chuck and Blair went scheming. Chuck and Blair worked together to take down a teacher. Chuck and Blair were seen at the party of the year. Chuck and Blair were at the MET steps, at NYU, at the Empire, the Palace, the van der Woodsens, the Waldorfs. The screen was _filled_ with names, and mostly _their_ names. Rose tapped at a photograph of two sixteen-year-olds, a boy with a bright red coat and a girl with dark curls and headband. They were obviously her parents, and both of them looked exceptionally good. She was a mirror image of her young mother indeed, and her father was surprisingly handsome as well, although he looked less mature or professional-looking as he did today. Her eyes scanned the other posts, from a blast about something that happened at Victrola to a dinner at Thanksgiving. After a while, she turned to Collin.

"Your… _dad_ dated my mom," she stated, and she was full of disdain.

"More like the other way around," he smirked, and she shook her head. Blair Waldorf with Nate Archibald didn't seem like a fitting combination. Actually, even a hungry grizzly bear and a fat mouse would make a better couple than the two of them.

"_Ew,_" she said, her mouth twitched with disgust. The others laughed at her face, and Scott winked as he said:

"I think you might want to keep that 'til you read about your dad…"

"Do I want to know?" she asked, and Laine winked.

"Depends… are you in for some dirty laundry concerning your own father?"

Rose bit her lip. "I _do_ love dirty secrets, but this…"

Scott playfully pushed her shoulder, and she had to control herself not to hit him right back. She didn't know whether it would be a good idea to read, but she couldn't help herself. Rose _was_ a Waldorf-Bass-mixture after all, she practically attracted these things. She snatched the phone out of Laine's hand and stood up, walking away. She could hear the lower-class-peasants snicker behind her back. Rolling her eyes like it meant nothing to her, and she focused on the phone in her hand again. Laine had managed to form a Chuck-and-Blair-timeline from Gossip Girl. She skipped the Nate-Blair posts without thinking, and her heart skipped a beat when she saw the first post of her mom and dad. It was small, and they were young; apparently the two of them worked together once again to take another person down. The posts after them were pretty much the same, her parents were the most devious, scheming couple of the Upper East Side and it worked for them, until… until she saw the _one_. Victrola.

_**As you might have guessed, Upper East Siders, prohibition never stood a chance against exhibition. It's human nature to be free. And no matter how long you try to be good, you can't keep a bad girl down.**_

Her jaw dropped, and she read on. More of the same came up. Blair loves Chuck, he can't answer. Chuck loves Blair but she was back with Nate. Chuck hurts Blair and Blair hurts Chuck. Her mother had been right when she had told Rose timing wasn't her best aspect. Apparently, it wasn't her father's either. Biting her lip, she intensely read the other posts.

…_Jealousy…_

…_Tuscany…_

…_Scheming…_

…_Sleeping with Vanessa…_

…_Sleeping with Jack…._

…_Europe…_

…_NYU…_

…_The Empire…_

…_Toasts…_

…_distrust… _

…_the deal._

The deal. It was the one thing that had shocked her most. Her _father_ had _sold_ her mother for his hotel. He had traded her. Traded her for his hotel. The hotel above her mother… her hands shook too much to hold the phone, and it dropped. The cover and battery flew off and she almost fell. Behind her, the others stood up and she felt someone's hands on her shoulders. She tried to smile, but failed. She just hated her father too much, she _hated _him.

"Oh, I am so sorry, Scott. I didn't mean to drop the phone," she said, turning to the others. She could only hope she didn't look too worried or hateful. Scott scowled at her, picked up his phone and left with Laine, leaving her and Collin behind.

"Hey, you okay?" the boy said, and she nodded.

"Thanks for showing me that, Archibald." Rose answered, with a slight grin. It was nice to see someone cared for her; now both her aunt and mother had different things on her mind.

"For you, Waldorf, always."

She laughed and wrapped her arm around his shoulders, pecking his cheek.

"I have to go now, see my aunt. I was supposed to go shop with her this afternoon to get the perfect shoes for dinner tonight."

He winked. "I'm sure you'll look ravishing."

And she blew him a kiss as she stepped into the limo.

**~o~o~o~o**

With narrowed eyes, she glared at her father. He and her mother looked perfectly happy, but how could they? How could they be so happy with _their_ past? _How_ could her mother accept _him_ after he traded her for a fucking hotel? Neither of her parents had noticed her disturbance, and Christine had missed it as well. Honestly, the small brunette couldn't blame her aunt. Her life was just as fucked up as her parent's past.

"Are you okay, sweetheart?" Blair asked her as she turned to her daughter. Even Rose had to admit; the woman looked gorgeous, and she matched perfectly with her fiancé. She wore a perfect, pale blue original Eleanor Waldorf design with matching heels and headband, just like Rose. The girl shook her head and straightened the skirt of her Roberto Cavalli dress.

"I'm okay," she smiled. She saw that Chuck raised his eyebrows at her, and she had to bite her tongue to hold back her scowl. Rose turned away and started playing with her phone, scrolling through old photographs of her, her mother and Christine in Paris. She missed the beautiful city, but in all honesty, she adored New York. This afternoon, Christine had joked it might as well be in her genes, and she had retorted it would be in hers as well. The woman had shrugged and tried on the next pair of oversized Chanel sunglasses. Maybe they were right. Christine's and her family had lived in New York, and it seemed like something that could pretty much drain into your DNA. The girl was snapped out of her thoughts by her mother's characteristic laugh, and when she looked up, she saw her parents share a sweet kiss. Immediately, she felt her anger towards her father grow.

"Stupid man," she muttered, making sure no one except herself would her. She glanced at her aunt, who sat right next to her. The woman was looking stunning as always, in a dark blue silk dress from Maison Rabih Kayrouz, but the air around her was filled with sadness. Blankly staring ahead of her, she swirled around the amber liquid in the glass she was holding.

Rule number one. Christine wouldn't be introduced as Chuck's sister. She would be Blair's best friend from Paris, in New York for the upcoming wedding and to look after her daughter. It was the one thing she and Chuck had agreed on. According to Chuck, it wasn't time for Bart to get to know her yet. According to Christine, it never would be if you put it like that, but after a little fuss, she'd agree. When the limo stopped in front of the Archibald apartment, the dark-haired woman seemed to wake up from her thoughts and smiled brightly, excitedly clapping in her hands.

"Oh! We're here!" she said, in a singing voice. Chuck grinned as he opened the door and offered his hand to Blair, who gratefully took it. Christine and Rose followed, and after a quick glare of Chuck, the eldest rolled her eyes. "I promise I won't say a word. I am Christine _Marlowe_, after all."

He nodded, not reacting the name of her husband. Rule number two. Uncle George's name would not be dropped at any moment. Blair smiled at her daughter and took her hand. Rule number three. There were absolutely no problems in their cosy little family. The daughter loved her parents and her parents loved her in return. Rose ignored her father as she stepped in her rightful place next to her mother. At least one rule would be broken. There _were_ problems, although she seemed to be the only one aware. With their head held high in natural action, they simply strutted into the building.

**~o~o~o~o**

Rose looked around. She recognized Laine and Scott from earlier, not remembering exactly why they were there. There were a couple of other people she didn't know. A tall, grey man with piercing blue eyes –who would only be Bart, a woman who was younger with blonde-dyed hair, a woman with olive skin and black hair, a younger man with dark curls, a little older man with approximately the same haircut, a handsome man with blonde waves and an older woman with blonde hair. Rosalyn Charlotte Waldorf never had been shy. It wasn't in her nature. She was a queen, an emperor. With a small smile, the little brunette stepped out of the elevator, followed by her mother. She saw Collin and Serena –or Aunt Serena it would be now- coming towards them. The man with the blue eyes and the older woman with the blonde hair were just a few steps behind. The man nodded at her father.

"Son. It's good you're here."

So he was her grandfather indeed. Chuck and Christine's father.

"Charles! Blair! Oh, the two of you looked just _marvellous_ at the gala, like always. You really are the perfect couple."

Blair smiled, and Rose groaned, loudly. The woman turned to her, a confused but polite smile on her lips.

"And who is this?"

Coolly, Rose extended her hand. "Rosalyn Charlotte Waldorf," she said, with one eyebrow raised, as if she was challenging the woman. Before she could react, Chuck cut in.

"That would be Waldorf-Bass, actually." His eyes flickered at her, and she pursed her lips in return. The woman's smile faltered. Rose smirked. Apparently not everyone knew about her and it would be a scandal. _She_ would be a scandal, but she would do whatever it took to drive her parents apart. She had to. When neither Blair nor Chuck took any initiative to answer, Christine did it for them, smiling brightly and taking the woman's hand in her own, shaking it in a perfect society way.

"She is their daughter, and I can promise you Rose is a perfect angel. I can know, I have watched her _a lot _of times when we lived in Paris. Christine Marlowe, nice to meet you."

"Lily Bass." The woman –Lily- returned. She must be Bart's wife. Rose's grandmother.

"It's so nice to meet you. Even in Paris you are some sort of legend. An example for all women," Christine smiled. It wasn't true, but she knew her flattery. All of them could see Lily brighten up as she playfully waved away the compliments. Rose ignored the confused looks of her parents shot her, and gracefully she followed her grandparents to the table. Several of the men and women she hadn't met yet stood up and all introduced themselves. Rose smiled and nodded, as she was taught by her French etiquette teachers. Carefully the girl linked the names with faces, to remember them better. It was going to be useful.

"Daniel Humphrey." Scott's father, apparently.

"Vanessa Abrams-Humphrey." His mother.

"Jennifer Humphrey." Scott's aunt and Laine's mother.

"Eric van der Woodsen." Collin's uncle.

"Tobias Carter." Someone's boyfriend.

In return, Rose smiled. She sat down next to her grandmother Eleanor and introduced herself shortly: "Rose Waldorf."

She smirked as she saw the shocked faces. Separating Chuck and Blair would be too easy.

**A/N Good morning. Sorry for the late update. I have to catch up on soooooooooooo many shows! Why do I have so many favourite shows? Because they're awesome, but that's beside the point. Anyway, dinner! I really wanted to let few of characters return. Some of them (I won't tell who yet) will be quite important. Hehe. So, things about this story: **

**Blair's stalker (or whatever you want to call him/her) will return soon, so as Gossip Girl, but there are a lot of things I need to work up to. You know, so I don't have to explain everything while writing about it.**

**I like Bart. A lot. So hopefully I'll manage to give him more time. And fuck all of you who think he should hate Blair, because I don't think that. At least, not in the end. **

**What more is there… o right. I'm sure you haven't missed the fact Blair said Nate ruined her life once already. I will explain that.**

**Christian (Christine's adoptive brother) will have a fairly important role. **

**George will stay. I like him. **

**Collin's real parents will return at some point as well **

**Yeah. Some explaining/spoilers, you know it. Sometimes I read books/stories and some things never get explained and I always get **_**so**_** frustrated by that that I just really wanted to say I hope mine will not turn out like that. **


	18. Chapter 17

**FIRST OF ALL: YEAH, I NOTICED ALREADY I ACCIDENTLY UPLOADED CHAPTER 16 INSTEAD OF 17. GIVE ME A BREAK, PLEASE! SHIT HAPPENS! SOMETHING WENT REALLY WRONG AND I DON'T KNOW EITHER. SO, ENJOY THIS CHAPTER. IT'S NOT MY BEST BUT, HEY; IT'S SOMETHING ;) **

**A/N "Life is either a daring adventure or nothing." It could be a whole lot of shit, too. Or fun. I don't think my life is an adventure at all, but it is pretty fucked up, so I don't think it's nothing either. Anyway! Every day people update stories I follow, I think: today has been a good day. That's pretty much what it takes for me to be happy. **

**Now, I need to study volcanos and earth-things. **

**I forget it all the time, but the disclaimer: I don't own Gossip Girl or anything at all, really. I do own a bagel… aaaaaaaaaaaand it's gone. **

**OH! Another A/N! I realised I made a terrible mistake in chapter 13. Firstly, I said Bart was dead. He's not. Secondly, I said it was the anniversary of his death. Well, he's not dead, and the anniversary is somewhere in November, while in my story, it's summer. I realise it's pretty confusing. I guess I'll work it out some other time x) **

At first, dinner was casual and easy. People chatted, but there was a strong divide. It was obvious Blair fell no to small sympathy towards Vanessa, Dan, Jenny or their children at all. When she had spotted them at first, her lips had curled into a grimace of disgust.

"_Why_ is Cabbage-Patch kid here?" she'd groaned softly, but loud enough for everyone to hear. Chuck had snickered and kissed her temple, but no one actually answered her. She never really liked any of the Brooklyn-born-people, but she accepted them. At least she would be able to rub her perfection in their faces. Not that her life was actually perfect. She hadn't received any new threats, but the ones she had received were already too many, Christine had problems with George and now Rose. Her beautiful, perfect, sunny daughter always had always been a delight to be with. The last weeks Blair had thought Rose adored Chuck, but now… now she seemed to… _hate _him. Normally, either she or Christine would have noticed any change, but both of them were occupied. Was that why she didn't like her father any longer? Was she jealous? Of _Chuck_? Hesitantly, Blair placed her hand, the hand with her gorgeous, sparkling Harry Winston ring, over her daughters.

"Are you okay, sweetheart?" she whispered in a way only the two of them knew. She immediately noticed the hateful glare at Chuck before the girl nodded slowly. Blair leaned closer to her daughter, ignoring the others.

"You're not."

"Yes, I am."

"Rosie…"

"I'm fine, mom, stop harassing me."

"I'm not harassing you and you're not fine. Why the sudden disgust of Chuck? He _is_ your father after all."

Rose jerked back, her brown eyes cold. Before running away, she bent over and whispered. "He is not if I don't want him to. You need my autograph if he wants to make anything official."

Shocked, Blair glanced across the table. Not only Christine and Eleanor were watching here, but all the others as well. Her mother quirked an eyebrow at her, and Blair opened her mouth to say something, but closed it immediately after. Suddenly, Laine let out a small yelp. Stunned, she pointed at Blair, who thought she meant the weird acting of her daughter.

"I… I don't know what has gotten into her," she stammered, but Laine shook her head and whispered:

"That is a gorgeous ring, miss Waldorf."

And with that, everyone forgot Rose and stared at Blair's hand. The woman flushed crimson when she extended her left hand for everyone to see. Smiling proudly, Chuck took her other hand and she smiled back at him. Eleanor and Lily said grinningly: 'well, it had to happen sometime.' Nate, Eric and Serena hugged and congratulated their best friend enthusiastically, and Vanessa, Dan and Jenny muttered a few polite 'yeah, well, congrats'. Katie and Laine were most excited of all, they jumped and clapped and giggled and started chatting about the wedding already. After a few seconds of happiness, Blair started to wonder about Rose again. Cyrus pulled out another bottle of champagne and started to fill flute after flute until everyone had one. Before she could take a sip, completely forgetting about her baby in her concern about Rose, Chuck snatched the glass out of her hand. At first, she pursed her lips and shot him an annoyed look, but then she realised why he took her drink. Her lips formed a perfect 'O' and she giggled. A few confused looks were shared amongst the others and then…

"O. My. God!" Eric's new beau Tobias exclaimed, and he held up his hand as if he wanted to silence the crowd. Everyone immediately shut up, and a very happy Tobias continued: "When are you due, Blair?"

Now everyone was excited. No one noticed Christine slipping away, with a small smile on her lips. No one noticed Collin following her, anxiously eyeing the soon-to-be-Mrs-Bass.

**~o~o~o~o**

"Rosie? Rosie, dear? Where are you?"

Rose scoffed. Of course her mother would send her aunt to speak with her instead of doing it herself. She heard the woman swearing after she tripped over something in the other room. She sighed. "I'm in here, auntie Chris."

Her aunt's head appeared in the doorway, and she smiled. Somehow, the woman could always cheer her up. Christine smiled too, and sat down next to her niece.

"I know you're not okay, so spill."

"Why shouldn't I be okay?"

"You just walked away from dinner. You love dinner."

Rose laughed, and of course, Christine joined in.

"No, seriously, though, Rosie… What's wrong?"

"Chuck."

"Chuck? What happened to 'dad'?"

"Gossip Girl happened."

"What's that?"

Rose couldn't keep herself from rolling her eyes. "It's an anonymous blogger who sends blasts about Chuck and my mom."

"Only them? Creepy."

"Not only them. Collin's parents as well, and about Laine's mom and Scott's dad too."

"It's still creepy… why didn't people do anything about this?"

"I don't know."

"So what's the problem?"

Rose fell silent, and after a moment of hesitation, she took out her phone out of her purse. She scrolled through her pictures until she found the screenshot she had made of the blast, and then gave it to her aunt. Christine's eyes scanned the text, to only find something she already knew. As she gave back the device, she wrapped her arms around the girl's shoulders.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart, that you had to find out like this."

"You already knew, didn't you?" Rose muttered. The woman nodded.

"Well, yeah. Blair and I go way back, remember. I know about everything about her, and her past with my brother."

"Why did no one tell me?"

Christine smirked. "Because it is absolutely the _best _idea ever to just walk in and say: 'oh hi, honey, I'm madly in love with a man who sold me for his hotel when we were nineteen.'" She said sarcastically, and even though she was furious with her father, Rose smiled.

"You're not going to forgive him, are you?"

Rose shook her head.

"Even though you can see how much he loves your mother?"

She nodded, and her aunt sighed.

"We should get back," she said softly, and the girl nodded. The two of them made it back downstairs, not noticing the 15-year-old boy hiding in the hallway, eavesdropping on them. Blair was still surrounded by giggling woman and happily chatting away men. Chuck stood beside her, one hand on the small of her back, the other holding a glass of scotch. Rose pursed her lips and gathered her things. Christine walked up to Blair and softly told her she and Rose were leaving. The petite brunette nodded in her defeat, but her fiancé didn't give up that easily.

"Why?" he said with narrowed eyes. His sister rolled her own eyes and muttered something about 'not feeling well.' Of course, he didn't buy it. In few steps, he stood in front of his daughter and stared down at her dark curls.

"Tell me what's wrong, sweetheart."

She gritted her teeth. "No. And I'm _not_ your sweetheart."

Chuck tilted his head but didn't argue with her. "But you _are_ my daughter."

Smirking deviously, she shook her head. "Not if I don't want to."

Confused, the man glanced at his daughter. "Why not, I thought-"

"Well, that was before I figured out what you had done to my mom!" she was yelling now, and the others began to notice. Nervously, Blair tried to cover up her daughter's extreme behaviour by making up a few believable excuses. Even her smartest, wittiest comments couldn't prevent the outburst coming from her daughter.

"SO YOU JUST EXPECT ME TO ACCEPT EVERYTHING AFTER I FOUND OUT ALL THE SHIT YOU HAVE DONE TO MY MOTHER?!"

The entire room fell silent, again. "So I suppose she has discovered Gossip Girl?" Lily mused, and Christine nodded.

Blair, who flushed red in anger, turned around to the rest. "Who the hell showed her that?"

Her eyes fell on Collin, Laine and Scott who seemed to be the only ones who weren't surprised. Her doe-brown eyes narrowed and she didn't turn around when she heard her own daughter leave. "Who?" she threatened, and Collin stepped forward after a moment of hesitation.

Accusingly, he pointed at the others. "They helped, too!"

Serena gasped, and Brooke chuckled, but no one realised Chuck had disappeared as well.

**~o~o~o~o**

"OH! So you _didn't _leave my mother at a helipad while you were _supposed_ to fly off with her to Tuscany?"

"I did, but-"

"Young and stupid, yeah, I _realised _that after the _fifteenth _time you used that excuse."

"Rosie, please-"

"It's still Rose for you! And you were _not_ young and stupid any longer when you traded my mother for your _hotel _with your _uncle_!"

"Sweetheart, calm down-"

"NO! First of all, I. Am. Not. Your. Sweetheart. Secondly, I won't calm down. Not now, not ever. You _ruined _my mom! Ruined her! Do you even _know _how many nights she has tried to sleep but couldn't because she couldn't stop crying? Do you even _know_ what you have done to her? You _don't_."

"Why can't you forgive me? Your mother has."

"She surely has, _Chuck_, but I won't."

**~o~o~o~o**

When Chuck returned to the party at the Van der Woodsen-Archibald apartment, Rose had already left. Christine was still there, and engaged in a vivid conversation with Bart. The old man hadn't reacted well on Rose, but at least he still didn't realise who the woman in front of him was.

"Are you okay?" Blair whispered softly in his ear as she embraced him. He nodded, and grabbed her hand. Gracefully, he led her towards Bart and Christine. The moment they reached them, Christine stopped talking and smiled coolly at their father. Bart nodded in response and walked away, after which the woman turned to face her brother and best friend.

"Well, that was interesting," she smirked, and the other brunettes nodded. "At least Blair had some… more interesting news than a teenager acting out."

"Do you really think that's all?"

She shook her head, and Blair sighed. Dinner was over and their daughter was gone, nothing held them at the party. Nothing but Bart. The man had been more than disapproving over Rose, over Blair. It seemed even Christine wasn't good enough for him to be in Chuck's life. Or too good. Both Chuck and Blair frowned when Christine let something slip about Bart's disdain.

"Why?" Blair asked, and her best friend shrugged. She pointed at her brother.

"_He_ should go talk to him. I'm going home anyway. I'm pretty tired of pretending to be," she pointed at Blair, "just _your _best friend. These people," she moved her arms around, "are probably the reason why I was sent away to Britain."

She sounded more than calm, as if she was just pointing out the lovely weather. Blair smiled and nodded, ignoring the fact she just had blamed the people she considered family as the reason for herself being banned to Europe by her own mother. When she left, the other brunettes were gathering their stuff as well. Bart stopped them, or rather, Chuck.

"Son. We need to talk."

**A/N O MY GOD GUYS! I AM BEING PUBLISHED! YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! **

**I am so happy! I wrote this short story for my creative writing classes, and it was **_**so**_** good everyone who read it told me I should enter some writing competitions with it… and I did. I entered exactly **_**one**_**. One in which, when you win first place, you're being published in an actual book! A hardcover book! A hardcover book which is being sold in actual stores! AND GUESS WHAT? I WON! I won first prize and now I'm being published! **

**So: YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!**

**And: I hated this chapter. UGH. I really do. Can I change it? Yes, yes I can. But not now. Ugh. This was a really, really awful chapter and **_**so**_** many things went wrong while writing it and I feel really fat but no one cares. **


	19. Chapter 18 part 1

**A/N Let's start with the saying of today... which is: "Even if you fall on your face, you're still moving forward."**

**Well… I'm sorry but I don't think this even **_**needs**_** anything to make it seem even more ridiculous… I mean, think about it. Even if you fall on your face, you're still moving forward. I don't think so. And it's just… ridiculous. Nothing more to say. **

**I don't own anything! Yeah, I know I forget it on a regular basis, but I mean, it's quite obvious. There would never even **_**be**_** Dair if I owned Gossip Girl. I was okay with Louis because I know he wasn't going to last, but Dan… There were just TOO MANY Dair fans! First off all: WHY? Dair was awful! AWFUL! It was like Blair herself said, he's a fucking Labrador. Ugh. Ugh. Ugh. Ugh. New chap! **

**Before I begin: this is the first part of chapter 18… that's why it's so short. **

"What is it, father?"

"That girl… is she your daughter?"

"Yes."

"How old is she?"

"15 years old."

The old man sighed and turned around to face his son. The look in his cold blue eyes was stern, nothing like the warmer sympathy that had been located there for the past years.

"Are you… completely sure she is yours?"

Chuck nodded. "Christine had a test done."

"Blair Waldorf's best friend."

Slowly, the brunette nodded. He had heard the disapproving tone in his father's voice. Whatever was going on, it wasn't something good.

"Are you sure you can trust her?"

"Yes. Father, what is going on?"

"Even after nine years, you still don't have your problems in order."

Stunned, Chuck tried to protest, but Bart cut him off. "The moment I think you can be okay again, you come back with _Blair Waldorf_ and some random teenager. What do you think you're doing, Charles? What do you think she's doing?"

Unable to protest a second time, the younger man raised his eyebrows. What the hell was he saying? That he couldn't trust _Blair_ because he'd missed out on a couple of years? That the only reason she wanted to get married was because of the Bass money and legacy? Blair already _had _money. More than enough. She and Christine were owners of the best hotel in Paris. In France, even! Chuck could feel his anger rising and it took him everything not to spat at his father and keep calm.

"Father," he started, breathing heavily, "If you think I'll leave her, you're wrong. I _love_ Blair, and Rose, more than anything. I will _never_ leave either of them. And I do not care you don't trust them, because I do. I always will."

Coldly, he turned around, with his back to his father, and walked away. He was pretty sure the others had heard their conversation. Blair was still waiting for him in front of the elevator. Christine had left, of course, and all they could do was hope she went after Rose. He slipped his arm around her waist as he moved next to his beautiful fiancée.

"What was that all about?" she muttered as they made their way down and towards his limo. Outside, there were teenagers practically waiting for them.

"Bart doesn't trust you."

She looked up to him, questions in her doe brown eyes.

"He thinks you're only marrying me because of my money."

She laughed, humourless. "That's ridiculous. I'm marrying you because I love you and I don't want to lose you."

Chuck smirked back. "I know that. I feel the exact same way, remember?"

He leaned closer and captured her lips with his.

"You sure?"

They kissed again.

**~o~o~o~o**

The first place Rose thought of when she left the Van der Woodsen-Archibald residence wasn't home. It wasn't the Waldorf apartment either. Instead, the girl's mind drifted off to the duck pond at Central Park. So that was where she was headed.

**~o~o~o~o**

Rosalyn Charlotte Waldorf-Bass was extremely easy to predict. She was so much like her mother. Even in Paris, when she was upset, she'd always go to the duck pond in the gardens of the Waldorf chateau.

It wasn't a surprise when Christine spotted a familiar combination of pale-green and chocolate brown.

"Hey." The woman sighed as she sat down next to her niece. The girl refused to acknowledge her.

"Don't worry, your parents didn't send me."

Still nothing. The older brunette smirked.

"You're overreacting, sweetheart."

Rose kept silent, and they looked over the water in a loaded silence. After a while, the girl sighed and glanced at her mother's best friend.

"I'm not overreacting."

Christine smirked. "Yes, you are."

She shook her head, and the woman grinned wider. "Rose, you refuse to forgive your father for something he did years ago."

"That doesn't matter. Why does everyone keep saying that?"

"Because it _does _matter. And it's true."

"I won't matter to me."

"I figured."

"Then why are you here?"

"I like ducks, sweetheart. And I like you."

"More than Chuck?"

"Chuck is my brother?"

"But I'm your niece."

"Exactly."

They fell silent again, but after a while, Christine stood up. Almost shocked, Rose looked up and bit her lip.

"Where are you going?" she asked, almost desperate for her aunt to stay. In response, the brunette only smirked.

"Lenox Hill hospital," she said, and she winked, "Want to come?"

She nodded eagerly as she followed her aunt back to the streets.

**~o~o~o~o**

The apartment was empty, as expected. Neither brunettes knew where the others were, but it didn't matter.

"Are you sure Chris is with her?" Blair whispered as she dropped her coat on one of the chairs. Chuck nodded.

"They will be back soon," he soothed, and she smiled sadly.

"I'll just grab a glass of water, okay?"

He nodded, kissed her, and strolled back. It took her way too long for her only to grab a glass of water, but he knew nothing was wrong. Instead, his eye fell on a few strands of paper.

There were four. Three loose pieces, one still in its envelope. Without hesitance, he picked up the pieces. He didn't hear Blair come in.

"Where did you get those?"

Chuck turned around to see her standing frozen in the doorway. She was holding her drink in one hand and a small box of macaroons in the other. With the threats still in his hand, he walked over to her.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

She doesn't answer. Instead, she repeated her question firmly. "_Where_ did you get those?"

"I found them, here. Why didn't you tell me, Blair?"

She sighed and took over the threats reading them over again. It doesn't take long for her to notice the new. She drowned, but opened it. Two words, black on white.

'_Watch out.'_

**A/N So, I was thinking to write another story. Problem is, I am really excited about it, but I have three other stories going on. So, instead, I wrote the entire plot already and all the other details. Then I wrote the plot and details of its sequel. And then the plot and details of the sequel to the sequel. So, people, when this story is done and so are my others, there will be **_**lots**_** of stories, hehe.**

**I am **_**slightly**_** obsessed with the mafia and I love, love, love AU stories. Which means: AU MAFIA STORY! Yeah, what a surprise. A long time ago, I said I was going to write one. And I will. **

**I don't exactly know why I mentioned this, but… well, I did. Thank you all for reading! **


	20. Chapter 18, part 2

**A/N 'I have failed on my way to success.' Well, that can't be right, can it? Never mind, it says exactly that in my notebook. That's one shitty advice. I think the guy who wrote this failed at being happy. Or at whatever he was doing. **

**Part 2 chapter 18 (: **

"Are these the reason you left New York?"

She nodded, eyes still glued to the paper.

"How many have you received since we're back?"

She motioned to the papers. "This is all."

"Do you still have the ones from before you left?"

She nodded, but slow and unwillingly.

"Can you get them for me?"

Another nod and he waited until she got up and stalked away, only to return with a box in her hands. He recognized the case immediately.

"For all your dirtiest secrets," he smirked.

"Almost ironic how right you were," she muttered in return.

Instead of reacting, he picked up the crate and took out a few strands of paper. Most of the messages were short and quite simple; three or four words tops. He could see _his_ name or references to _him_ over and over again, on almost every piece of paper.

'_He will hurt you again.'_

'_Do you really think he'd stay?'_

'_He won't.'_

'_He'll leave you like everyone leaves you.'_

'_Nothing good ever stays with you.'_

Chuck's eyes scanned the letters until all of it became a grey blur. With a look of disbelief, he looked up to Blair.

"And you believed this?"

She nodded, eyes still down.

"Why?"

That made her look up.

"Why?" she repeated, her own voice laced with disbelief as well. "_Why_? Because you're Chuck Bass. You don't _do_ girlfriends, remember? What do you think would happen if I told you that the great Chuck Bass had a daughter?"

He opened his mouth to respond, but nothing came out. After a second try, he managed to stumble; "But you're Blair Waldorf."

She froze, surprised. It took her a second before she composed her posture again.

"What would that have mattered?"

"I… I could –no, actually would- have changed. For you."

At first he thought she was going to scoff at him, but instead, she leaned closer and kissed his cheek with those soft red lips of hers.

"I know," she whispered, before taking back the box.

**~o~o~o~o**

"So, what are we exactly doing here?" Rose asked. She and Christine were walking through the cold hallways of the Lenox Hill hospital. It was long after visiting hours, but they had managed to get in.

"Trying something," the woman muttered without looking up to her niece. Sarah had said it would be a good idea to show George things he'd loved so many years ago. The only things left were people… her and Rose.

When she didn't answer, Christine looked up at her, but Rose just looked back confused. Shortly, the older brunette explained where they were going.

"I want to see if he recognizes you," she said with a small smile, and she was relieved when Rose nodded.

"So we're going to see Uncle George?"

Christine nodded as well, and opened the door. The room was still full of light when they walked in. The curtains weren't closed yet and the TV was turned on. The man in the bed smiled when he saw who came in. he still didn't remember anything, but he had grown quite fond of the woman who was supposed to be his wife in the shirt time they'd seen each other.

Enthusiastically, he pointed to the screen. "In this episode of Castle people die three days after watching this film. They don't say it's three days after you _first_ see it, they just say three days after watching it. Using their own logic, they could be immortal by watching the film every day."

They smiled at each other and Christine laughed when he added: "I know it's a murderer and not an evil spirit, but still…"

It took him some time to notice Rose, who was still standing awkwardly in the doorway. He tilted his head and glanced at his wife, who had already taken her spot next to his bed.

"Who's this?" he asked.

"Rosalyn Charlotte Waldorf-Bass."

"That's a long name."

Rose smiled at him.

"And she is…"

"Our niece. You adored her."

The girl smiled again and nodded. She and her uncle George had been thick as thieves. The man still looked confused, but smiled, and motioned to her she should come closer. Hesitantly, she sat down next to her aunt and uncle. He studied her face and after a little while he said:

"You look quite sad. What is wrong?"

"Daddy issues," she smirked, and he laughed.

"There's no such thing. Every daughter loves her father. It's in our genetics."

"Not true, remember? You can't when you don't have one."

George's lips curled up. "But you do."

Slowly, Rose nodded. "Yes."

"You're our niece, which means," he turned to Christine for reassurance. "Your brother is her father, isn't he?"

Both women nodded, and he smiled in his triumph. It had been the closest thing to remembering his past all day.

They left an hour and a half later, leaving George alone in his room with nothing but his thoughts.

**~o~o~o~o**

He didn't realise how much he enjoyed their company until they left. George liked the girl. He liked the way she talked to him, the ease with which she moved around. It was a lot like Christine. Christine… every time he thought about her, his heart seemed to stop in some unexplainable way. Everything about her seemed to make his world brighter, shinier, happier. He must have been one hell of a man to catch a girl like her all those years ago. He hadn't had the heart yet to ask her how they met, but it was one of the biggest questions on his mind.

George sighed and ran his hands through his hair. He hated the amnesia. He hated it more than the pain of missing everything over those long years. He could keep up with news by reading old papers, but he could never get those memories back. Never. An unwanted tear made its way across his cheek and he wiped it away, frustrated. There was no way he could survive not knowing his past. Not knowing his history.

And then… it hit him. A scene he couldn't explain, hit him with all its force. It was clear as day, and not one of the shreds he had experienced a few times before, this was real.

_He was walking in a park, and it was snowing. Tiny white snowflakes danced through the air and onto the soft, dark curls of the woman besides. No, not just any woman. Christine. Snow fell on her hair, her nose, her coat, gloves, eyelashes. She said something he couldn't hear, but he laughed, and she did the same. Together, they walked through the park, looking at the dark sky, which was filled with stars. She pointed out something, and he nodded, interested. Suddenly he felt the need to ask her something, felt the need to ask her the most important question of his life. He stopped, and she followed him. Facing each other, he could see every detail of her face. Her pale skin. Her golden eyes. Her long eyelashes. Her soft, pink lips. He sank to one knee, with her gloved hands still in his, and looked up to her. She bit her bottom lip in an upcoming smile, and unconsciously, he felt the same laughter in his belly. Slowly, he pulled out the little box out of his pocket. He opened it, and saw her eyes widen as she looked at the ring. It had taken him years to find it, the perfect ring. It was white gold, pure as she was, with a large diamond in the middle and smaller diamonds around it. It was gorgeous, perfect, exactly like her. He took a deep breath and looked up to her one last time. _

"_Christine Elizabeth Bass, will you do me the honour of being your best friend and husband for the rest of my life?"_

**A/N lots of notes on this little chapter. I think it's time for George to remember some more of his past. I'm coming closer to the end of this story, and I'll write a sequel when I'm done (I don't want this story to become too long). While working towards the ending; I have to say George and Christine and even Christian are becoming more and more important. I want to finish it in a few chapters and I hope you don't hate me for that. I'll post the start of the sequel the same day as I post the ending of After 14 Years. I know it might become a bit rushed or anything like that, but I will try to keep it the same pace as usual (: **

**More! I am a big, **_**big**_** Castle fan and when I was watching the most recent episode, it just **_**hit**_** me. They. Were. Wrong. They kind of re-created The Ring (some random horror movie with Martin Henderson). There's this film, and when you watch it, three days later, you die. It literally says: you've seen, you die. First of all: no shit, Sherlock. People tend to die when they get older. Secondly: they don't say: three days after you first saw it, just three days. If it really would be an evil spirit, with their own logic: they would become immortal by watching the film every day. I was so, so mad at the writers of the show! I MEAN, PEOPLE! THIS. IS. BAD. It's worse than Dair. Ugh. I hate it when it can't make sense. Yes, I am the biggest OCD person ever.**

**Thank you for reading my story and I love youuuuuu! Sorry for the short chapters, I **_**had**_** to divide them, otherwise it wouldn't seem right (in my mind…) (like I said: OCD)**

**OH THERE IS MORE! Of course there is ;D  
The way George proposed to Christine… well, it's how I want to be proposed to (: I hate winter, and snow and everything combined to it, but I just loved the idea so much and it's just how I see the perfect proposal. That, and anything in a zoo with sunshine and butterflies. I don't know why. **

**O MY GOD! (sooooo many notes!) I JUST REALISED HOW MANY THINGS I STILL NEED TO WORK OUT IN THIS STORY! Ugh! The sequel to this will be focused on Blair's stalker (hehe, spoilers), so you won't know who he/she is until then, but there are so many things still on this!  
- Blair and Chuck's wedding  
- Blair and Chucks children (including Rose of course, and her  
hate towards Chuck)  
- George  
- Nate ruining Blair's life  
- Christian  
- fights and breakdowns (omygawd more spoilers Ö)**

**Sorry for the long note…**

**Don't hate me ): **


	21. Chapter 19

**A/N I'm sorry to admit, but I won't have any sayings of the day anymore ):  
It's not that I don't want to, but I lost my notebook somewhere, so until then: you'll just have to listen to me nag about stuff ;D**

**First of all, about the story: THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT! I made a time jump of a few months. I know you might think it's wrong to make a jump now, but there was nothing left at the point I left last chapter. So, what happened in those months: pretty much nothing. You might think: what about the threats? Well, Chuck called his PI to look for Blair's stalker, but he couldn't find anything. Slowly, the threats started to stop, and people started to forget. Blair, Rose and Christine moved to New York for good and Rose enrolled at Constance, together with Laine, Scott and Collin (and the others, but they're less important). Rose still loathes Chuck, but he and Blair are happy, engaged and still very pregnant. They found out they were having twins, and they weren't the only ones who were expecting; Serena is pregnant again and she's due the same time as Blair. After this news, Christine and George decided they are going to adopt again, after Serena and Blair's children are born. Living at the UES reminds Christine daily of her brother Christian, which is hard on her, but her bond with George has become stronger than ever. He is slowly regaining his memory, but hasn't told anyone –not even his wife- yet. Everyone has been pretty much happy and successful for the last few months. **

**As you probably have noticed; there hasn't been a wedding yet. I'm not sure when I'm going to let it occur, maybe in this story, maybe in the sequel. Or maybe I'll just write a separate OS about the wedding. **

**I hope you don't mind! **

**I don't own anything and I probably never will ): **

**(oh, and I'm sorry I'm jumping into the drama immediately after the jump. I just really want to wrap this up and start on the sequel…) (and on all kinds of other stories…) **

A pregnant Blair was not what everyone expected. Christine and Rose were the only ones who had experienced it before, and avoided the Waldorf-Bass residence whenever they were able to. After a few months, even Chuck and Serena decided it would be better if they'd avoid the brunette too. Nate and Dorota weren't that lucky. Instead of being the biggest bitch in the universe, what everyone thought would happen and where they all embraced their selves for, she became _curious_. Of everything. Anyone who entered her questioning-radius became a victim, which was the exact reason why they all really didn't want to go to Serena's little get-together, because they knew she was going to be there. Well, not only Blair was the problem. Serena tended to provoke her by being interested in people's secrets herself, too. After hours of encouragement, the two women succeeded in getting all the men –and Christine- in the Archibald-Van der Woodsen apartment. Over coffee and scotch, the six of them discussed the regular issues. Baby names, weddings, George. It was all the things the usually talked about when they decided it would be worth a shot at being close to the pregnant women. After a while, they ran out of subjects and Chuck and Eric started to become uncomfortable. Both could feel something coming up, and it didn't take long for Blair to form a new question in her head.

"You know what I really want to know?" she said after another moment of silence. Christine turned her head to her best friend, and Eric sipped his decaf with narrowed eyes.

"I really, _really_ want to know who Eric's first boyfriend was."

"Why?" the young man muttered. He didn't like to talk about his first love. The boy had committed suicide after a year at the Upper East Side and Eric never really got over him. It was a cruel way to lose someone you love.

"Because we're interested, my sweet little bro," Serena said with a roll of her bright green eyes. He groaned and tried to seek help by looking at Chuck and Nate, but both just shrugged their shoulders. The young man sighed.

"Fine. His name was Christian and he was an exchange student from Britain."

Eric watched as his sister giggled and his new step-sister tensed up.

"What happened to him, Eric? Did you… dump him or something?" The golden-eyes woman whispered, almost sounding shocked. Eric shook his head in response.

"He committed suicide."

"Do you know why?"

Uncomfortable, he shifted in his seat. Hesitantly, he nodded. Christine raised her eyebrows, and he glanced at Blair, who was still watching them indifferently. She had lost her interest a while ago.

"He… he hung himself."

"Why?"

"He was… quite unhappy."

Christine groaned. "I already knew that, Eric, I just want to know what made him so unhappy."

"Well... he took his own life after a classic Blair Waldorf take-down, so I guess you could say that's why."

The room fell completely silent and while Blair frowned, confused, all the colour disappeared from Christine's face. Slowly, she turned to Blair, who still hadn't recalles any of the things Eric had just told them.

"You…" she started, her voice almost a whisper.

"I can't remember anything, really," her best friend cut in, trying to explain her confused look. Furiously, the other brunette woman shook her head, her loose curls bouncing in the air.

"You are the reason he's dead!" she seethed, and tears formed in her eyes. She had lost everything –_everything_- and now she was told her best friend practically killed Christian? Blair tilted her head, not knowing why Christine would react like this. With a hateful and disdainful glare, the woman stood up and packed her things.

"Where are you going?"

"Far away from here."

"Why?"

"I really can't look at you right now."

"Well, whatever I did, it can't be-"

"ERIC JUST TOLD YOU, BLAIR!" Christine yelled. She was red and angrier than she'd ever been. "YOU'RE THE FUCKING REASON MY BROTHER IS DEAD! HE KILLED HIMSELF BECAUSE YOU WERE A BITCH, LIKE YOU ALWAYS ARE!"

Everyone stopped what they were doing and stared. Heavily breathing, Christine walked away, looking back just once before stepping into the elevator. "Don't call, don't text, don't even think about apologizing. I need time. A lot of it."

When the doors closed, Blair turned around. She was crying as well, and ran away from the others. She couldn't even look at herself right now. Sobbing, she sat down on the floor of her bathroom. She knew her best friend wouldn't return in a while… if she'd even return at all.

**~o~o~o~o**

"What... the _hell_ just happened?"

Nate, Eric and Serena all looked at each other as Chuck stormed away to follow his fiancée. Nate shrugged, and the others frowned. They didn't know whether Christine or Blair was overreacting, because they didn't even understand what it all was about. Rose was the one who saved them from their confusion. With an apple in her hand, she walked out Collin's room and noticed the adults staring at her, expectantly.

"What's wrong?" she asked with a roll of her brown eyes.

Eric answered. "Your mom and aunt just had a fight about someone named Christian?"

"Oh," the girl chuckled. "Auntie Chris told me about her brother Christian. He committed suicide after a year in New York. The anniversary of his death was a few months ago. The sixth of July, or something."

She shrugged and leaned on the table. She smiled at Serena and Nate. "Have you been thinking of names already?" she asked, pretending to be interested.

Serena immediately lit up, as did Nate. The blondes nodded their head. "We were thinking Evelyn, Amanda or Alexis for a girl and Dylan, Benjamin or Andrew for a boy."

Rose smiled, and commented on the names, still pretending. They were so easy to win over. She eyed the other man at the table. Eric was going to be hard. he was smarter than the others, more fond of his step-brother. He was going to be the problem. He and the twins. Rose detested her mother's pregnancy. She hated it so much. After all Chuck had done to her, she still was getting married to him and she was still going to have his children, _again_. It didn't matter he was her father, too, because she never had one for about fourteen years. It didn't feel like she had one. But the twins… they would always see him as their father. Rose groaned. She hated him so much.

**~o~o~o~o**

"Mrs Marlowe!" the girl at the desk happily exclaimed. Her red hair was pulled back like every day. The girls at the hospital had seen the woman so many times they started to recognize her every day.

"Hi Helena," Christine smiled. She still didn't really like the girl, but she "accepted" her.

"You must be happy your husband is allowed to go home today," Helena smiled, and the brunette nodded. She _was _happy, exited even. It was a pity her mood was ruined already. Her husband was allowed to get out of the suffocating hospital today, and all she could think about was Christian. No… that was what she had been _thinking_ about. In all honesty, somewhere deep inside she already had forgiven her best friend. It wasn't her fault Christian had been mentally unstable. But she couldn't just go back there and say: 'hey sweetie, I'm okay again! Sorry!' Christine knew she had overreacted, but it was too late. She was angry and sad and happy at the same time and it was confusing the hell out of her. She didn't even notice Sarah walking up to her.

"Hi, Chris. Good to see you again," the blonde woman said with a smile, and the brunette returned the gesture.

"Hi Sarah."

"I'm happy for you and George. You look happy."

"Thank you. You know, if we decide to adopt a girl, we might as well name her after you."

The blonde grinned and hugged her new friend. It was the last time they were going to see each other anyway. "Goodbye, mrs Marlowe-Bass."

"Goodbye miss Sarah."

**~o~o~o~o**

He was packing up his stuff when she came in. When she _skipped _in. it was almost astonishing how much things women can do in 5-inch heels. She dropped herself on the bed and watched him gather his things. He looked up and smiled. It wasn't a secret anymore. No, it had never _been _a secret. He loved her, so much. It was still a surprise to him why a woman like her had decided to marry someone like him.

"You okay?" he mused. He already knew the answer.

"Yeah…" her response was distant, and he lay down next to her on the bed.

"You're not."

"How can you tell."

He chuckled. "Even though I may have lost my memory, I still know you. So, what's wrong?"

She rubbed her eyes with the palms of her hand. "I don't know, really. I'm… tired and confused, I guess."

"Oh, I know that feeling."

She laughed and turned her head to face him. George smiled at her, in his charming, boyish-but-adult-like way and she leaned in to kiss him. She'd missed him so much.

**A/N Before you all send me messages about the places where everyone lives: Christine now lives at Blair's old apartment. First I thought Blair should move to the Empire, but then I realised: they are having twins! And **_**then**_** I realised I always saw them (even as a family) at the Empire in the future. So, you should just picture the town house showed in season 6, I'll probably always imagine the Empire penthouse. I don't know exactly why. Or why I shared that. I'm weird. **

**By the way, I know it's a little bit rushed and things, but I just… can't wait to start the sequel (:0**


	22. Chapter 20

**A/N Hi! I'm sorry for the late update :c My life has been... quite active, actually. My boss has a new boyfriend and although Paul's my boss… the two of them are like really cute together and gay and sweet… What more is there..? Right, I'm broke. I'm really, utterly and awfully broke. It was not only my dad's birthday last Tuesday, but also one of my friend's and Wednesday it was my best friend's. Also, I went to this awesome hip-hop clinic from Vincent Vianen (he's like this really famous choreographer) and I have to say: I'm not a hip-hop person. I'm like Blair Waldorf, people! I actually enjoy opera's and old movies! I don't even want to move that fast D: **

**Ugh. I am soooooooooooooo broke… **

**Before I start the actual story: I'm sorry the last chapter was so rushed. I want to finish this story so badly and although the end is **_**coming**_**, I don't see it anywhere yet. I'm trying to update more often, but there are a lot of things going on in my life, so I hope you don't mind if I fail (again)… **

**I don't own anything! **

**(also: some of the scenes in this chapter and upcoming chapter have been written before, so the rest is mostly to make it fit…) (I'm going waaay too quick aren't I?) (maybe I'll write a series of one-shots for this story, including the actual wedding) (which will be a one or maybe two shot, by the way ;D)**

Blair's world was falling apart and she didn't like it. She hated her life. She hated it how Chuck was always working, how Christine didn't speak to her, how Rose decided her mother wasn't important or fun or interesting enough to hang around with. She missed them. She missed people. She also knew it was probably her own fault that Eric and Tobias were hardly speaking to her, and Nate and Serena couldn't help it if Brooke fell ill. So she sat on the couch, watching Breakfast At Tiffany's for the fortieth time that day. She smiled as George Peppard and Audrey Hepburn fought in the taxi and when they kissed in the rain. Instead of replaying it all over again, she let the credits roll and stared at the screen. Somewhere a phone rang, but it was picked up by one of the staff members. Blair sighed again and picked up another macaroon. One of the maids shuffled towards the sofa and tapped the brunette on her shoulder, muttering something about Rose calling that she was staying at Christine's house.

Great. Even her daughter thought Christine was right. She couldn't wait when the twins came.

**~o~o~o~o**

"Christine? Auntie Chris?"

The girl knocked hesitantly on the wall next to the elevator. Even though she wouldn't admit it, she liked the Empire. She liked the suite, her room, everything. But somewhere, she still considered the Waldorf apartment a sort of home. The doors opened, but no one came by to see who had come in. The hall was empty and so way the entire living-area. Rose frowned and slipped in the apartment, checking on the rooms until only the balcony was left. She had spent enough time with both Chuck and Christine to know they were very much alike and she also knew what Chuck normally did on a balcony. Well, if her mother was there, too. But Christine had no man, right? Uncle George was still in the hospital, wasn't he? So she walked to the windows and opened them.

"O MY GOD!"

She hit the glass with the back of her head when she stumbled backwards. She had covered her eyes, but she hadn't been fast enough.

"I. Am. Scarred for life, auntie Chris. _For life_!"

One of the bodies on the chair fell on the ground and a loud and male voice cursed something that definitely wasn't English.

"Rosie? Is that you?" The sleepy voice of her aunt said, and Rose slowly took away her hand from her eyes. She was relieved to see the two had covered themselves up.

"Yeah, I wanted to talk." She looked at the man, and was awfully happy when she noted it was her uncle. "Uncle George! You're back from the hospital!"

Her uncle nodded, his cheeks red. Christine smirked and leaned over, whispering something in his ear. "Don't worry sweetheart, she has walked in on my brother and Blair a few times before, she's just overreacting."

"You sure?" he whispered back, still hesitant and ashamed.

The older brunette nodded. "Very."

Christine looked up to her niece and smiled sweetly, not embarrassed at all. "Sure. Let me just find my robe and get some food."

With cheeks still flushed, the girl looked around until she saw a spotless white silk robe hanging over the edge of the table. She handed it quickly to her aunt and carefully sat down in one of the other chairs, making sure she sat on her skirt and not on the wood of the furniture.

"So," she muttered awkwardly, "You're out the hospital?"

George nodded, in Christine absence of retrieving them something to drink, a chance she had just decided. "Yeah. Sarah said it would be a good idea to come back, live with my wife again."

"Who's Sarah?"

"My psychiatrist. New York isn't home, but it's closer to it then Paris. And I don't think Chris will want to move back."

"Why not?"

"I just think Paris was hard on her, too. From what she has told me, she only stayed because of you and your mom."

Rose didn't know if she should feel bad or grateful. She decided to go with grateful. Christine had always given much support during Rose's short life. She never thought it might have been hard on her. "So you remember things?"

"Some."

"But you still love my aunt?"

"It might have been a while, but I'll always love your aunt."

Before Rose could reply, Christine had returned with her husband's robe over her arm and a tray in her hands. She winked at her niece as she put down both and handed her a glass of champagne. 'To celebrate your uncle's homecoming.' She said with a smile, and the girl was glad to have some alcohol in her system as she prepared herself for her confession. Christine noticed the uneasy behaviour, something that was nothing like her niece at all, and looked at George with pleading eyes. George rolled his eyes and stole one of the first times she had seen her aunt happy.

"Don't worry," the older brunette smiled, "he's just acing out. Now, what did you want to talk with me about?"

She really had become a different person.

"Rosie? You still there?"

Rose nodded and downed the rest of her champagne in one move. "Do you hate my mom?"

Christine was clearly taken back.

"Do you hate my mom? I know what she did to your brother."

She sighed, but then shook her head, slowly. "I don't think so, Rosie."

"You don't think so or you know so?"

"I don't think so."

"Why not? She killed your brother. Maybe not directly, but she did."

"Rose… Christian was suicidal. He had tried to kill himself before. I just really needed someone to blame. I'm still mad at your mother, but I don't hate her. I've spend _way _too much time with her in the past to hate her. And she may have made Christian unhappy –and I admit, she wasn't the only one-, but she makes Chuck happy. That's something, right?"

Rose fell silent for a few seconds before she blurted out: "I don't hate my dad."

It was soft and unclear, but both knew what she said.

"What?"

"I don't hate my dad," she repeated, and the woman in front of her smiled.

"Then why are you acting like this?"

Rose's cheeks flushed again and she bowed her head. She might as well stay honest.

"I'm scared."

"Of what, sweetheart?"

"That they're only together because of me."

Christine frowned. "But they love each other."

"It's been ten years, aunt Chris. What if that has died?"

The woman still didn't understand the problem. "But… they're having twins?"

"That's exactly what I mean! What if they're only together because of us? Look at what they've done to each other in the past! The only reason why they wouldn't do the same is because of us. And if my mother loved my father so much that she has forgiven all of his bullshit, then why didn't she go back?"

"Rose…" Christine sighed and took her niece's hand in hers, pulling her back to the living area. "I have something to show you."

She crouched down in front of the TV and pulled out a box of DVD's. "Even though I'm more than sure your father loves Blair more than anything, I have no visual evidence of that. What I _do_ have is something that shows your mother loves him too, although she couldn't return to New York because of other reasons." She held up one of the discs triumphal and grabbed the remote, dropping next to Rose on the sofa. Both stayed silent as a much younger Christine appeared on the screen.

_She held up the camera to her face and pulled at her hair to make sure it wouldn't look better than her best friend's chestnut curls. She waved at the thing and pulled her six- and nine-year-olds closer, leaning to them as she turned to camera to her recently adopted siblings._

"_Hey baby," she said with a grin to the eldest, a beautiful little blonde girl with green eyes named Sydney, "Wanna say something to aunt Blair? She just had a baby."_

_The girl nodded happily and smiled. She missed a few teeth. "Hi auntie B! you should check if baby has magical powers, like Harry." She clutched the book to her chest and there was a deep chuckle behind Christine. She turned around and kissed her husband's cheek before she picked up Hugo, who was still very small for his age. George did the same with Sydney, although she was already nine. They chatted happily for a while, about Harry Potter and dinosaurs, until they arrived at room 102. She kissed her son's dark hair and let him down. _

"_I'm going in alone, okay. With all of us it might become a little too cosy."_

_George nodded in comprehension and she checked if the video camera was still on. When she realised it was, she smirked and softly opened the door. The room was fairly dark, but the figures were clear to see, even on the screen of the camera. Blair was holding a beautiful little boy closely to her chest and smiled. Christine immediately copied the emotion and sat down next to her best friend, holding up the camera. _

"_B, that's one gorgeous baby you have there."_

_Blair looked up, and she set the camera down next to the bed. The two women continued their conversation as Christine stroked the boy's dark hair. _

"_What's his name?"_

"_Charles. His name is Charles. Charles Henry Waldorf."_

"_That's a very nice name."_

"_Thank you."_

"_Did you name him after his father?"_

"_Yes. He just looks so much like him. So much. If I can't be with Chick, I might as well keep something close that is him."_

"_I understand."_

_Christine smirked when Blair started cooing sweetly to little Charlie. "Hi, baby. You're so beautiful, so much like your daddy. God, how I wish he was here, right, baby? My beautiful little boy. You're going to be so smart, like mommy." She nuzzled him closer to her chest and whispered; "I love you, Charlie, and I love your father, too."_

Christine was the one to break the silence. "See? This was almost a year after she left the city. She still loved Chuck. She'll always love Chuck, as far as I know."

Rose nodded, silently.

"Rosie, I'm probably going to be hypocritical, but you should forgive your parents. It happened in the past. They are over it. Accept it. It happened in the past."

It took the girl a few minutes before she realised what she had to do. "You're right. I should wait until I have evidence my dad loves her back before I forgive him."

The older brunette's mouth fell open. "Rose," she almost stuttered, "That's not what I said."

"I know. But it's the right thing to do."

She grabbed her coat and stepped in the elevator. She was late for her 'study hour' with Collin anyway.

**~o~o~o~o**

"I'm glad you're home, you know."

"I'm too."

She smiled at him, and he noticed, even though it was dark. He could... _feel_ it when she smiled. Every time she did, he could feel his heart skipping a few beats. George hadn't told her yet, but things had returned. He could remember several things, sometimes even full days. He wrapped his arms around her soft, warm body and pulled her closer.

"What's wrong?" he whispered. He could always tell when she wasn't okay. After a short, loaded silence, Christine answered.

"Blair is getting married, and having twins. She is the reason my Christian is dead, and all I can think about is what they'll name their babies, or which dress she'll wear. My brother and best friend killed himself because of her, and all I'm worried about is if Rose will accept her father again one day." she stopped, and after a moment of hesitation, she added: "Am I a bad person, Georgie?"

He grinned and kissed the top of her head. "You moved on from his death a long time ago, and started caring about others. You could never be a bad person."

"Should I forgive her?"

"You told Rose she should forgive her parents because she detests them for something that happened years ago. This has happened years ago, too."

She groaned, but didn't pull away. "You're right. I hate it when you're right."

He chuckled. "I love you too, dear."

**~o~o~o~o**

She was just heading back home when she, and everyone else on the street, heard her ringtone. She picked up, quickly, not looking at caller ID. The voice of her father filled her ears.

"Rosalyn, thank god."

Rose frowned. He sounded… stressed and weirdly tired.

"What do you want?"

"Rose, I know you don't want to speak to me, but I have something you might want to know."

"Which is?"

"Blair's in labour. Your mother is in labour."

**A/N woooooo, finally done! Sorry it took so long ^.^  
yes, it will stay this rushed, but I think this story will be ending in 2 or 3 chapters.**


	23. Note

Hi everyone!

I'm so sorry, this is not an update...

I have been going through A LOT lately and I lost all inspiration to write **anything**

the only reason my other story (What If) is still updated is because I wrote most of the chapters before hand :$

I'm so sorry

When I find the time/inspiration to write the last chapters, I'll update

but that may be a while


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